How can I use Gmail as a spam filter?

Gmail has arguably the single best spam filtering system available, and it can be used to filter your e-mails even when you are not using it as your primary e-mail client. Using this method you should easily be able to block 99%+ of the spam you receive.  Best of all, it's a free solution. 

Firstly, you must pull your email into Gmail. To set this up follow these steps:

  1. Create a Gmail email address (or login to your exising Gmail account)

  2. Click the Gear icon in the top right corner of the Gmail screen and then click Settings and then the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.

  3. Enable POP and enable IMAP and then make sure you click to Save Changes

  4. Click Accounts and Import

  5. In the Check mail from other accounts (using POP3) click Add a POP3 mail account you own.  (Use the default 110 and non-SSL option UNLESS you have an SSL certificate installed for your domain.)

  6. Fill out all the e-mail address, username, password, and POP server address (mail.yourdomain.com) information and if successful Gmail should be successfully retrieving your e-mail from your e-mail server.  (Note that you can also setup Gmail to be your sending server, but it will be obvious to the receiver of your emails, and most people prefer not to send thru Gmail but thru their default mail server).

 

Secondly, you must setup your email client to now pull your email in from Gmail directly, using IMAP (or POP, IMAP is preferred and outlined below):

 

Incoming Mail (IMAP) Server - Requires SSL:

Incoming Server:  imap.gmail.com port 993

Requires SSL:  Yes

Outgoing Mail Server (IMAP):

Outgoing Server:  mail.yourdomain.com - we recommend port 587 (or use your ISP's outgoing mail server)


** Note:  If you have a large volume of email already in your account, it may take Gmail an hour or more to pull in the all your emails from the server.  At times Gmail only pulls in 200-400 per hour, though after this process is complete you won't encounter this again.

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