When it comes to spam blockers, we found the best, most recent reviews in PC Magazine and PC World. PC Magazine tests spam filters by bombarding the test computer with tens of thousands of mail, calculating how well a spam blocker identifies spam, as well as how well it properly identifies legitimate mail. PC World performs similar tests, but with fewer spam filters. We also found good reviews in Consumer Reports magazine, where editors test eight standalone spam blockers as well as Outlook and Apple Mail. Anti-spam software is loaded on a test computer and assaulted with 1,000 e-mails, one-third of which are legitimate. Like PC Magazine and PC World, editors then calculate how well a spam blocker does its job. Ease of use and cost are also factored into the equation.
Sunbelt Software's iHateSpam (*est. $20) used to be a reviewer favorite, but this spam blocker has slipped in the latest tests. Reviews are mixed for the latest version (4.0) of iHateSpam, which PC Magazine gives a score of only 2 out of a possible 5, due in part to its propensity to mark real mail as junk: "Nearly 20 percent of our legitimate mail was classified as spam." PC World's reviewers didn't have a big problem with false positives, but editors note some system lag. Other reviews say that although iHateSpam is easy to use, it's just not as effective as other spam blockers.
Lyris Technologies' MailShield (*est. $60) is more expensive than most software, yet in PC World's tests, it delivers only about a 66% capture rate, the lowest of the nine products tested in a 2004 review. We haven't seen a more recent review for this software. MailShield works through a separate interface rather than operating in the background, so users must launch MailShield separately.
Most Internet security suites, such as Norton Internet Security (*est. $60), McAfee Internet Security (*est. $65) and ZoneAlarm Security Suite (*est. $50) include ant-spam tools in addition to antivirus filtering, parental controls, anti-spyware features a firewall. But when it comes to blocking spam, most security suites aren't as effective against spam as a separate spam blocker. One exception is ZoneAlarm, which is the top-rated product in our report on Internet security suites. According to PC Magazine, which tests security suites specifically on their ability to combat spam, ZoneAlarm is better than any other suite at filtering spam from legitimate mail, preventing 96% of spam from entering the inbox, with only 1% of legitimate e-mail misidentified as spam.
Norton Internet Security also contains a spam blocker, but in tests at PC Magazine, spam filtering isn't as effective as with ZoneAlarm. In a week-long test, Norton AntiSpam (which is the spam blocker included with Norton Internet Security), misidentified about one in ten legitimate e-mails incorrectly as spam, while allowing one in six spam messages in to the inbox.
Panda Platinum Internet Security (*est. $50) includes an antivirus application and a firewall, along with a spam blocker, but in tests, reviews say its spam filter has a higher-than-average rate of false positives. Another security suite, Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security (*est. $50), gets high marks for its antivirus capabilities. However, reviews say that although PC-cillin's anti-spam filter is functional, it's not as robust as standalone products or as the spam blocker included in ZoneAlarm Internet Security. If you need other software in addition to a spam filter, ZoneAlarm is the best choice.