Yahoo email problems

[LR827]

Forgive me if this is a repeat of another string.

We've used Yahoo email for many years, and it seems lately that the spam is mushrooming. Also, I keep getting unsolicited IM's and there seems no sure way to opt out of receiving IM's altogether.

We have other email accts -- same screen names at aol and gmail -- but before trying to notify all of our contacts and change the email address on every website we use, I wonder what TS'ers recommend? Aol, gmail, or another site? Paid or unpaid? Suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Lorraine

[Xairbusdriver]

How are you reading your messages? If you're using the web-based interface, you're totally at the mercy of the site's SPAM controls (or lack of them). If you use an email app (like Mail) you should have lots of options for dumping SPAM without ever seeing it. Most email apps allow you to create rules. Some allow the use of third-party plugins like SpamSieve which have much much better algorithms for detecting and learning what you consider SPAM. And using an app allows you to read mail from all sources, not just the particular account, and usually in a much better formatted presentation, also.

Of course, changing your address will stop most SPAM for a certain period of time, but it will only be temporary. As soon as your friends address books are changed to use the new address, the SPAM will start again from their infected machines.

[tacit]

QUOTE(LR827 @ Apr 6 2012, 04:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Forgive me if this is a repeat of another string.

We've used Yahoo email for many years, and it seems lately that the spam is mushrooming. Also, I keep getting unsolicited IM's and there seems no sure way to opt out of receiving IM's altogether.

We have other email accts -- same screen names at aol and gmail -- but before trying to notify all of our contacts and change the email address on every website we use, I wonder what TS'ers recommend? Aol, gmail, or another site? Paid or unpaid? Suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Lorraine

Yahoo's email is, by modern standards, appallingly bad. In 1997, they were the best free email provider out there. Today, in 2012, they are the best free email provider...of 1997.

I'd recommend Gmail, myself.

[Paddy]

Yeah - I'm about to dump a YMail account (one of Yahoo's other mail offerings) that I thought I was so clever to snag, 2 hours after YMail domain accounts became available. It's a spam nightmare - probably because it's a very simple email address. It turns out, that really isn't a good thing. Also, some twit in Ireland keeps using it to sign up to everything under the sun, with the result that I've gotten myself on a boatload of email/spam lists. At one point, one of his friends sent an email to the address, and I responded that I wasn't who he thought I was - that he had the wrong email addy, and we had a rather amusing back and forth where he noted that his friend wasn't the brightest bulb in the pack and that I seemed a heck of a lot smarter! (This nitwit has also given a travel agency that email addy - I informed them they were sending their confirmations to the wrong email as well. The rest I ignored). Anyway, I'm not impressed with Yahoo and their offspring at the moment. Unfortunately, Rogers uses Yahoo as their email provider, but with the additional spam filtering on my Mail account, and continued care, I still don't get much spam on my primary account.

BTW - there are spam filters you can use on Yahoo's web mail, and they do work. However, they're not as configurable as the ones in Mail.

[jcarter]

gmail or mac mail for our family.
Jane

[LR827]

Thanks to everyone. I made the mistake of starting this question while away in Chicago. Returning home tomorrow and haven't been checking in regularly.

Jim, I do use Mail and receive aol mail thru that but I still get a lot of "junk". I set the spam filters but still look thru all junk mail because sometimes good mail gets tossed there.

So far it seems gmail is most recommended but Jane also mentioned Mac mail. Can u tell me a little more about that?

[Xairbusdriver]

"Mac mail" is the email app that comes with every Mac. You can view any email account you ever get/have in it. You also confuse me with this statement:

QUOTE

I set the spam filters but still look thru all junk mail because sometimes good mail gets tossed there.

What "spam filters" are you talking about? And, if you don't know what "Mac mail" is, are you building/using those filters at Yahoo?

There are dozens of email reading apps (programs) for all operating systems. For the Mac, Mail is probably the most used since it comes with every machine. But there are many others; Sparrow, Thunderbird, Postbox, Mailforge, Entourage, MailPlane, MailCue, etc., etc. The advantage of a email program is that it is usually much more capable of filtering the incoming messages. And there are often add-on filtering apps that enhance what's already there. For example, I don't use the filtering functions in Mail, at all. Instead I use SpamSieve. If a message gets a false positive rating, I simply select a menu item telling SpamSieve the message is OK. It then updates it's filtering functions and moves the message back into the regular InBox.

I suppose there are reasons to use the different ISPs/Web companies web-based email viewing methods, I just don't know what they are, assuming I have my laptop and Internet access.

As for IM's, I don't use iChat or any other IM app, so they never bother me!

[LR827]

Jim, thanks. I didn't realize what "Mac mail" was. I always refer to it just as "Mail." I thought Mac mail was something different, like Mac.com. Anyway, now I only have to get my hubby to accept the changeover and we'll transfer everything to Gmail. They seem to make it pretty easy. Thanks again, and to everyone, for the advice.
Lorraine