Recently I have experienced an increase in spam messages from the Yahoo network, and prior to this I received spam over ICQ in the form of authentication requests. This sort of spam is worse than any unsolicited junk mail that I’ve received, in my opinion, because it’s delivered directly to my desktop in real time.

Up to this point I have been using the Trillian instant messenger. It’s a great piece of software and I’ve enjoyed its interface and options above the other instant messengers.

The one thing that it’s lacked, though, is spam blocking. So what have I done to stop spam from Yahoo and other chat networks? I’ve switched to Pidgin.

Pidgin is a somewhat unwieldy program, and to be perfectly honest it feels unfinished according to Windows standards. It’s also unnecessarily complicated to install skins and the default interface is a very plain theme that looks like something from the 80’s that’s trying to appear futuristic. Yeah, it’s about as bad as it sounds. These bumps are not surprising considering that it’s originally a Linux program that has been ported to Windows.

Once you get over the adoption bumps though, you may find that it’s quite a nice program. It connects to the same chat networks that Trillian supports and then some, and there is also no Pro version. This means that you don’t ever have to pay to use plugins. Trillian, of course, only supports plugins if you buy the Pro version.

…and it’s the plugins where the magic really happens.

You want to stop Yahoo spam? Or the junk messages that you get from the other networks? No problem, just install Pidgin and then get the Bot Sentry plugin.

The Bot Sentry anti-spam plugin knows when you have received a message from someone who is not on your contact list, and it stops it from ever pestering you. It also sends a message back to the (potential) spammer and challenges them to enter a specific word or phrase. It’s just like posting on a forum: If you can’t pass the captcha then you can’t post. Well, if they can’t pass the test within 10 minutes then they can’t send you their message.

Better yet is the fact that you can customize the question and the answer that it requires. Currently mine is set to require potential spam bots to spell out the number 8, but it can be as simple or as detailed as you want.

It’s so simple that it’s brilliant.

The good news? It actually works. I tested it on a fellow that I know by removing him from my contact list, and I had no idea that he had sent me a message until he passed the test. When he did, the Bot Sentry anti-spam plugin actually sent his original message to me while notifying him that it was doing so. Thus you get to see their original message, and they don’t have to retype it…. and I only knew that all of this happened because he pasted the bot’s response to me.

I don’t know if it will block ICQ authentication spam, but it definitely blocks the other junk. For now I’m enjoying my return to a peaceful spam free IM.

Technorati Tags: spam, anti-spam, spam blocker, spam blocking, yahoo spam, yahoo, icq, msn, aim