Email Spam Getting Out of Control? Let’s talk about Email Filtering

We require various ways to communicate with others in our daily life. One of the most common, cost-free, and convenient modes of communication we use is email, which has completely revolutionised our communication system. Many of us exchange hundreds of emails daily, but sometimes, we also receive unwanted emails. These unwanted emails can be sent to us for any number of reasons. And many of them could be sent with malicious intent, which could pose a serious threat to organisations.

Email Spam Getting Out of Control Let’s talk about Email Filtering

That’s why email filtering is developed and gaining popularity and importance as a solution to this email threat. Companies should adopt email filters to minimise the possibility that users might click on something inappropriate and to protect customer information from cybercrime.

What Is Email Filtering?

Email filtering refers to the process of organising emails based on predetermined criteria. The system known as the email filter sorts and categorises emails into different folders according to specifications. It provides a system that can automatically specify email into multiple categories and move to multiple folders or areas for business, personal, subscriptions, and many other services. These services filter both incoming and outgoing email traffic for businesses.

Emails sent to users are scanned by inbound email filtering, which then divides them into many categories. If you check your inbox, then you can see that you get multiple emails for promotion on a daily basis which is not necessary. There’re dozens of emails from online shopping sites, food delivery services, free coupons, and so on. Email filters scan these emails and identify them as spam, malware, adult, bulk, virus, impostor, questionable links, and others and then move these emails to specific folders.

On the other hand, outbound email filtering follows the same procedure as inbound email filtering by scanning user messages before sending any potentially unsafe messages to other businesses. Organisations can install this function as an on-premises appliance or as a cloud service, depending on the requirements.

How Does Email Filtering Work?

An email filter is an email management tool that monitors and controls all the incoming and outgoing emails to your business accounts to filter out unsolicited emails (known as spam). The email filter uses a pre-set protocol or an email policy that the software administrator sets. Emails are marked as spam or phishing emails according to that pre-set protocol. The email filter checks all the emails to see if there’re any red flags or not. It’ll indicate spam content, which then automatically moves those emails to a different folder.

Email filters analyse an email using a wide range of criteria.

• They check for typical trigger words like “free,” “win this coupon,” “make money,” and so on. These kinds of words simply show that some organisations or people are trying to promote something which will be marked as spam by the email filters.
• Senders that try to connect you to stuff like newsletters without your consent may have their messages marked as spam.
• A sender with an IP address that has been previously reported for sending spam will probably be flagged.
• An email filter may be activated even by the email’s design and content. Two common layout triggers for spam are huge fonts or large graphics.

How does email spam filtering work

Types of Email Filtering

Email filters are accessible in several varieties that use different strategies to protect your communications. Your email filtering system’s policy can be modified to meet the needs of your company. Here are a few filters to assist you in blocking harmful email traffic.

Word or content filters: This filter analyses emails for specific words, phrases, or other content in the body of the message. Messages that contain those words, phrases, or content are automatically blocked or moved to the spam folder.

Header filters: This filter analyses the header of a message to see if it matches certain criteria. You can filter messages based on sender and recipient addresses.

General blacklist filters: Any emails coming from sources that are blacklisted as spammers are blocked by this filter.

Rule-based filters: This filter can block incoming or outgoing emails based on a combination of multiple factors. You can apply custom conditions and customise the policy to your exact needs.

Permission filters: Before any interaction can take place; a permission filter demands that the recipient give their consent to the sender.

Challenge-response filters: These filters work with challenge-response or C/R authentication to verify email sources. The filter sends mail to the sender to verify their identity. If they fail to do so, their messages will be blocked.

Why Are Email Filtering Services Needed?

No company should go without an email filter service, especially those that handle confidential data, such as customers’ financial details. Cybercriminals are drawn to this information, like bees to honey. If you have an email filter, then spam emails are identified and swiftly removed by the email filtering software. So, every organisation should implement email filtering.

Email filtering not only helps keep junk out of email inboxes but also improves the functionality and lifespan of business communications by ensuring that they are only used for the intended purpose.

Benefits of using email filtering services

What to Consider When Picking an Email Filter Service?

Here are the things you should consider when selecting an email filter service for your organisation.

Compatibility

You need to check if the email filter service you plan to use supports your organisation’s email policy and regulations. For example, if you don’t allow attachments to your email, you should consider email filters with attachment filtering. If you allow CC and BCC only for the invited people, consider using an email filter service that allows you to add restrictions to CC and BCC addresses.

Additional Functionality of the Email Filter App

One should seek an email filter tool that goes above and beyond the standard spam-detecting protocol. It should have some extra perks.

Responsive Customer Support

There will always be technical difficulties to deal with. Another factor to look for is responsiveness from the chosen filter service provider and how quickly they can solve problems.

Look for Pros and Cons

Reviews from other users might provide an extra push to understand what features and functions individuals find useful, along with the ones they hate.

Cost and Affordability

Most service providers often charge high for their services. However, it shouldn’t keep you from implementing an email filtering service, though. However, some services are considered cheap. You should thoroughly consider your needs and decide on them.

Conclusion

Even if you use email filtering, a tiny handful of skilled unwanted emails may still get through. If you want to avoid falling for a scam, email filters may not be enough. If you want to stop yourself from being duped by an email scam, you must understand how to spot its telltale indications. You need to be aware of the warning indications that an email might be a scam or phishing attempt because it only takes one employee to fall for a scam to harm your company’s whole network.

References

• https://www.soscanhelp.com/blog/what-is-email-spam-filtering- and-how-does-it-work
• https://www.proofpoint.com/au/threat-reference/email-filtering
• https://www.duocircle.com/content/email-filtering-service
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_filtering
• https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/spam-filter
• https://www.jasconv.com/blog/what-is-email-filtering-and-why-is-it-important/

Written by The Original PC Doctor on 10/11/2022.