Perhaps it takes a village to stop spam. That's the premise behind Cloudmark SafetyBar (recently renamed from Cloudmark SpamNet), which is available at $39.95 for a one-year subscription. After a quick installation, SafetyBar starts blocking spam based on existing filters.
If a spam message does get through, the user can mark the message as junk. This information then goes out to a network of users — more than 1 million, according to Cloudmark — and begins blocking similar messages for all users. In essence, we all fight spam together.
This begs the question, what if some vindictive user decides to block legit messages? Here SafetyBar relies on something like eBay's famed ratings system. Each user is graded on the timeliness and accuracy of his or her blocks. Based on the timeliness and correctness of your contributions, SafetyBar's automated trust system determines your reliability.
In addition, users can "unblock" a message if something legitimate, such as a newsletter, ends up in the trash heap. With the unblock function, such messages will be destined for the regular inbox in the future.
SafetyBar does carry a couple of drawbacks relative to some competing clients. First, the client must repeatedly connect to a Cloudmark server in order to filter out spam. This means that if a Cloudmark server is down — which does happen on occasion — you'll be unable to access your mail without modifying your mail settings to directly access your mailbox.
Additionally, with its yearly subscription cost vs. the flat-fee price of many competing anti-spam clients, you're likely to pay more for Cloudmark SafetyBar in the long run. Of course, a SafetyBar subscription does ensure you'll be able to obtain the latest software and anti-spam updates for free.
