Bayesian spam filters explained

In a word, Bayesian spam filters are “intelligent”. Bayesian spam filters are intelligent in that they are able to compare two sets of information and act on the result. This is in direct contrast to the vast majority of other spam filters that use predefined rules to decide which email is spam and which is not.

Bayesian spam filters can take a group of legitimate email and another group of spam and compare the values ​​and data of each. The definition of legitimate email you create at the end of this comparison session is what you use in the future to scan your inbox for spam.

FYI Bayesian spam filters are named after Thomas Bayes, an 18th-century clergyman who created something known as Bayes’ Theorem. In summary, Bayes’ Theorem is as follows: ..”in statistical inference to update estimates of the probability that different hypotheses are true, based on observations and knowledge of the probability of those observations, given each hypothesis” . In plain language, look for obvious repeating patterns to form an “opinion” about something. In spam filter terms, that “opinion” becomes a rule that keeps you spam-free (or pretty close 🙂

The really interesting thing about Bayesian filters is that they are capable of learning. For example, if they decided to block an email because the filter perceived it as spam but the user marked it as valid, the Bayesian filter knows that it will not block that type of email in the future. So over time, this type of spam filter learns enough to block spam much more effectively. AOL has adopted this type of spam filter with the release of AOL 9.0 and AOL Communicator. If the big dog wants it, then it must be worth it?

So what Bayesian spam filtering options are available to you? Well, quite a few to be honest and you may be pleasantly surprised by some of the names involved 🙂 First on the list is AOL with their AOL Communicator product. The spam filtering features in AOL Communicator and AOL 9 are, to be honest, impressive. Whatever you like about the vendor itself, AOL Communicator is an excellent product and is suitable for use by both PC and Mac OSX users.

Next we have Eudora. The good folks at Qualcomm have designed an excellent email client that also has a built in Bayesian spam filter. I have used Eudora in the past and it is a neat little package. Once again, the benefits here are advanced spam filtering integrated with your email automatically. Mac OSX and OS9 users are in luck because Eudora offers support for both.

If you would like more information on spam filters or just spam in general, please visit our site at http://www.spam-site.com