The disruptive and intrusive nature of technology makes it a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it has brought revolutionary change that enhances life and makes it convenient. However, on the other hand, the intrusive nature of technology is posing more challenges than before. SPAM just happens to be a product of invasive technology, and its menace has only been growing ever since it started to invade.

Regarded as one of the most pervasive problems in the world of technology, SPAM has been creating huge damages beyond imagination. Given its strategic nature, eliminating SPAM completely may seem impossible. However, one can face and beat the challenges of Spam by adopting protective measures. 

Statistics show that SPAM has invaded many websites and inboxes. Spam costs businesses a whopping $20.5 billion every year! Therefore, technologists and innovators keep coming up with various methods to deal with the tenacious nature of SPAM, to tame it, if not be able to stop it completely. 

Typically, spammers and hackers use website forms to plant malicious malware. They also use spam to promote their business. Therefore, the best strategy is to use a combination of methods to help identify the threats to avoid spam and to protect against spam by deploying anti-spam software and tools.

In this blog, we explore a few simple tools and ways to deal with SPAM. These will guide you on how you can prevent it and how you can protect against it by deploying the right anti-spam tools. 

Tools to avoid SPAM

SpamTitan

This is one of the most popular and widely used anti-spam software that protects against phishing and malware. When deployed, it blocks all phishing, spam, viruses, malware spyware, and malicious links with inbound and outbound scanning. This is used essentially for your website email security.

Mail cleaner

This software eliminates up to 99% of spam and protects servers for ISP, SME, SMI, and large companies too against the worst spam around. 

Spam-filter service

Without the need for any extra hardware, this is a very effective anti-spam filter service that guarantees 99.9% of spam detection. It essentially protects against DDoS attacks and phishing.

modusCloud 

This anti-spam software gives advanced threat protection with URL and attachment defense. 

Spamfighter

This anti-spam tool is designed to protect against major malicious malware. It enables small to medium-sized businesses to detect and mitigate risks by blocking spyware, malware, and phishing frauds. 

Sblam

This is a tool that helps block spammy posts in comments and forums alike. It is a web service that protects against spam of vicious nature.

The Honeypot technique

This is a strategic approach to dealing with SPAM. This technique involves creating a hidden field that can be seen only by spambots. So when they fill it, you can block it out, so normal users are unable to see it, and they naturally wouldn’t fill it, thus avoiding spam attacks.

Captcha

Captcha may not be one of the best recommendations, but it works in most cases and is still widely used. You can adopt the type that asks visitors to simply check a box that says they are not a robot. There are also some other more complicated Captcha options.

Other than the above-mentioned tools,  there are also some free tools available that help check your website security. Netsparker is a free tool that helps test SQL injection and XSS. You can also try OPenVAS, which claims to be one of the most advanced open source security scanners that tests for known vulnerabilities. 

How to Avoid SPAM through Comments

People also often encounter spam through comments on their websites. You can use the following ways to avoid spam through comments and forms alike- 

Avoid using standard URLs for forms

Comment spam is automated and they attack any web form directly. This is the most common form of website spam attacks. By not using the standard URLs for forms and changing the name of the file, you can block these automated spam bots and thus avoid invasive spam.

Keep moving form pages periodically

Even if you are not using the obvious or standard file name, spammers can still easily locate them if they are linked to your site. So moving your pages at certain intervals of time can help you fight spam effectively.

Changing the name of you form-action scripts

At times, spammers directly attack the script by knowing its name. You can confuse the spammers by changing the name of the script too. This can very well work to guard against spam intrusion.

Dealing with SPAM

SPAM is a wide-spread technology-disease that attacks through websites, web forms, emails, inbox, and much more. As long as there are going to be websites and web forms, there is going to be SPAM. Some of the most malicious spam such as Trojan Horses, zombies, Phishers and Vishers, inappropriate content, and more are just floating around to attack and kill the very motive of technology - convenience and security. However, one can deal with SPAM by becoming more vigilant, being aware, and being armed with the right tools to fight it out in order to curb the nuisance and the damage caused by SPAM.

What techniques do you use to protect your website from SPAM?