Spam Buster is an e-mail filtering utility to limit the junk e-mail that you receive in your POP3 e-mail box (AOL, MSN, CompuServe, Yahoo, and Juno are not POP3 accounts). It is not an e-mail program, but it can be used in conjuction with the e-mail program you already use.

Before you can begin using Spam Buster, some basic information about your e-mail account is required.

In the General Settings you must specify settings for your mailbox(es). Enter your POP account information, including the server name, your user id, and your password.

You must then put a checkmark next to the mailbox(es) you want to check for spam. The mailboxes that are marked will be the ones you will be able to choose from when you check for mail. If there are none marked then Spam Buster will not work.

Spam Buster can be set up to check for mail automatically at certain intervals, or it can be used to check manually.

You can use the other tabs to specify your internet connection, have Spam Buster start automatically, view your activity log, and specify which e-mail program you use.

After you've checked for mail and have a list of potential spam, use the right-mouse button to click on an e-mail to view the body of the e-mail or to add it to your list of spam.

A useful feature on this pop-up menu is the "Why was this e-mail marked?" Choose this option if you're not sure why Spam Buster did or didn't label an e-mail as spam.

Choosing this option brings up a window explaining why the e-mail was marked, showing each condition that was matched. If the e-mail was not marked as spam and you would like it to be identified as such, you can add a condition so Spam Buster will catch it.