Spam Reader is an anti-spam add-on for Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...

, produced under shareware license. The program uses content filtering based on Bayesian spam filtering

Bayesian spam filtering

Bayesian spam filtering is a statistical technique of e-mail filtering. It makes use of a naive Bayes classifier to identify spam e-mail.Bayesian classifiers work by correlating the use of tokens , with spam and non spam e-mails and then using Bayesian inference to calculate a probability that an...

 algorithm, whitelist and blacklist

Blacklist

A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...

 techniques, additional spam signs like embedded images from internet, attached executed files, and junk text.

Supported mailbox storages

The program supports : POP3, IMAP, HTTP and Microsoft [Exchange]. For Microsoft Exchange the program works only with default mailbox. Also HTTP mailboxes are limited to supported by Outlook. The program is an add-on, and automatically integrates into the Outlook workspace.

Main anti-spam techniques

White List - The program uses a White List technology - it guarantees that the messages from user's regular correspondents will not be blocked as spam even if their contents look like spam. White List may include names, addresses or entire domains. The list is automatically created on the first program execution by scanning a user's address book, contacts folder, and all saved sent messages.The program automatically updates White List adding the information about the recipients of outgoing messages.

Black List - the program contains contacts and email addresses from where you can receive spam or any other unwanted messages. Spam Reader will consider any message with a sender from this list as spam. Black List items may be names, email addresses and entire domains and can contain wildcards.

Safe Recipients List - This list contains email address to where user can't receive spam and all messages sent to these addresses should be always treated as legitimate messages.

Bayesian Spam Filter - Spam filtering is based on Bayesian approach. Using this algorithm, the program determines the score corresponding to the probability for a particular message to be spam. This score is used to decide whether a message is spam or not. Regular updates and self-training option, which make filtering algorithm very flexible.

Custom Filter - To adjust the filtering rules to a user's personal needs it is possible to define custom Spam and Not-Spam Dictionaries. If a message contains a word or phrase from Spam Dictionary, then it is considered as Spam. Messages containing a word or phrases from Not-Spam Dictionary will be directed to Inbox without further anti-spam filtering.

Outlook Rules compatibility

The program uses a special algorithm for interaction with Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...

Rules. This algorithm allows the user to set the order of executing Outlook Rules and Spam Reader. This prevents chaotic movement of spam messages between the Spam folder and the destination folder for some Outlook Rule in case the spam messages match up with this Rule.

External links

• Spam Reader - Spam Filter for Outlook - Home Page.
• Short information about Bayesian filtering
• Outlook anti-spam add-on installation. Details.
• Microsoft Exchange Compatibility. Details.
• Articles About Spam - Collection of articles.