Are important emails getting stuck in your SPAM folder?

I use Gmail and I think Google is doing a very nice job with their SPAM filter. However, I still occasionally find an important email that's stuck in my SPAM folder. That's why I scan through my SPAM folder every day.  I also happen to have a Yahoo account and I probably find more important e-mails in the Yahoo SPAM folder compared to the Gmail SPAM folder.

When's the last time you glanced through your SPAM or JUNK mail folder?

Gmail vs. Yahoo Mail

I think most people know that Gmail is Google Mail. On the other hand, I don't know how many people know that Ymail is Yahoo Mail. After all, who calls it Ymail when your email address has "yahoo.com" instead of "ymail.com?" Ymail.com simply redirects to mail.yahoo.com.

Both Gmail and Yahoo Mail are free services. In fact, I have active accounts on both Gmail and Yahoo Mail. If I had to make a recommendation, I would recommend Gmail over Yahoo Mail in a heartbeat. You don't see nearly as many advertisements when you're using Gmail. Also, the SPAM filtering technology is better in Gmail. Notice the embedded text link advertisements within the body of the email messages when you're using Yahoo Mail?

Also, if you end up getting an Android smartphone someday, you'll be glad that you have an active Google Account. Android smartphones depend on your Google Account information for things like Contacts, Calendar, Email, etc. If you use Android, you'll get a taste of some of the cloud computing benefits. Speaking of Android, this operating system isn't limited to smartphones. We're already seeing netbooks and slate tablets running Android.

How to use Gmail as a SPAM filter for your corporate email account

As a consultant, I often work with physicians and other professionals who are looking for easy technology solutions that won't break the bank. This week, I configured a corporate email account to leverage Gmail's SPAM filter. Why? Because Google has a great SPAM filter built into Gmail and this ends up being a free way to add a SPAM filter to a corporate email account.

So, how did I do it? Here's the simple explanation for those who are tech-savvy: forward your corporate email to Gmail, then retrieve your emails using the Gmail incoming mail server. To send emails, use your corporate outgoing mail server. Got it?

Need detailed instructions? Here's how you can use Gmail as a SPAM filter for your corporate email account, and this should work whether you're using IMAP or POP:

1. Set up a Gmail account and make sure that POP or IMAP is enabled (depending on which you prefer).
2. Forward your corporate e-mail directly to your new Gmail account.
3. Assuming that you're using Microsoft Outlook (or a similar email client), configure the incoming mail server using the Gmail information. You'll need to use your Gmail username/password to retrieve your emails. Make sure to type your complete Gmail email address as your username.
4. You'll be using your corporate outgoing mail server to send e-mails. So, in your email client, configure the outgoing mail server with your corporate information and uncheck the box that says "Use the same settings as the incoming mail server." This is where you will enter your complete corporate email address as your username.

At the end, you're using Gmail's incoming mail server (plus SPAM filter) to retrieve emails and you're using your corporate outgoing mail server to send emails.

Make sure to check your SPAM folder regularly

Depending on your e-mail client, you may be missing some important e-mails because they're getting filtered as SPAM. SPAM filters continue to evolve and different e-mail systems use different tactics. In the past, filters would look for certain keywords. Now, if you're a health care professional and you're sending an e-mail describing certain body parts (sexual parts such as breast, penis, etc.), then your e-mail address could get flagged as a SPAMMER! Well, those were the old days. Some filters still operate like that, but I'd say fewer tend to use that system. Then we have services like the DCC (Distributed Checksum Clearinghouses), SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DomainKeys, and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). Wow, did you catch all that?

The bottom line is that filtering SPAM is an evolving process. What used to work 3 years ago probably won't work today. No SPAM filter is perfect, so you're probably losing a few important e-mails each week because they're getting stuck as SPAM.

IMAP vs. POP and synchronizing e-mail on multiple computers

In the past, most people used POP e-mail settings on their desktop e-mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Windows Mail.

Today, many people still use POP. However, IMAP has significant benefits if you use more than one computer to check your e-mail.

If you want to keep all your e-mails synchronized across multiple computers, then learn how to use IMAP settings because it could make your life much simpler. When you use IMAP, when you delete an e-mail on one computer, it deletes that e-mail on all your computers. So, you can run Outlook on all your computers and keep your e-mails synchronized all the time. Brilliant!