What You Don't Get

Micromiser Software

What You Don't Get

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User profiles

 MiserMail can eliminate spam for certain user profiles due to the
 assumptions that can be made about correspondence, thus reducing the
 chance of misidentifications to a level that can be easily handled by
 appropriate recontact requests that work well for each type of user.
 MiserMail is recommended for a few other types who seek features other
 than spam removal. The recommended profiles include:
 
 * 1. Home or small offices.
 
 * 2. Large offices where each operator keeps their own email
 separate.
 
 * 3. Those mainly conducting personal correspondence.
 
 * 4. Children in care of adults who will set MiserMail to remove
 pornography.
 
 * 5. Those for whom spam removal overrides other considerations.
 
 * 6. Those for whom fail-safe virus protection overrides other
 considerations.
 
 * 7. Those for whom time spent on email activites overrides
 other considerations.
 
 * 8. Those new to email who mainly seek simplicity (regardless
 of spam removal).
 
 * 9. Businesses seeking customized message handling. An example
 would be filtering web forms with certain responses, or putting
 responses in the subject, etc.
 
 Profiles for whom MiserMail is not recommended include: Most computer
 experts, web programmers, ISPs and other web professionals, anti-spam
 professionals, students/teachers of HTML courses, those invested in
 HTML or Java programming, and others who routinely receive legitimate
 spam samples or legitimate spam-like mail in first-contacts from
 new senders only
.

Power users / email experts

 You may like this! MiserMail is a program you can install on a
 beginner's (or "experimenter's") system and walk away without worrying
 that you will need to return a week later to recover the C drive. It
 is quite "fascist" about possible viruses including all file extenders
 at OE level 1 plus a few we added ourselves. It encourages the user to
 delete them as received, and there is a big warning before any such
 attachments can be viewed in the default browser (executable content
 within messages cannot be accessed from MiserMail in any case). Three
 additional security features are provided for operators who cannot be
 expected to observe warnings, e.g. children. The warnings and features
 cannot be changed by clicking the wrong thing by mistake or out of
 frustration, but require reading the end of Help and editing a config
 file.

Inconveniences?

 Most spam filters start with the assumption that you will use Outlook
 Express or another popular POP3 client, then remove as much spam as
 possible. But they cannot be very effective because these clients were
 designed before spam was much of a problem, and are not well designed
 to work with filters. And few people really want to eliminate spam
 enough to accept much redesign of familiar programs.
 
 MiserMail starts with the assumption that you will not accept spam,
 porn, or viruses in your email, period. Whatever is required to
 accomplish that, it does. It turns out that POP3 email is required,
 but that's the most convenient method anyway. The main inconvenience
 is learning to use a new POP3 client. Once learned, it is generally
 just as convenient as any other. In fact, if you do business email it
 is more convenient. If you do personal email, there is one minor
 difference that you may or may not consider an inconvenience. That is
 mainly required to eliminate viruses, a major problem with traditional
 designs. To find out more about this, click below:
 Doing email with MiserMail
 

Features you don't get

 The MiserMail feature set is designed to satisfy the needs of the
 above recommended user profiles, which do not include the following
 features:

IMAP Protocol

       This email method keeps messages on the ISP server without
 receiving them at your computer. To eliminate spam reliably over time
 requires that you have full control over your email by receiving it at
 your own computer with a POP3 client, the standard and most common
 email method that collects mail to your computer.

Secure password authentication / free ISPs and email services

       Some free ISPs (the service you use to connect to the internet)
 will not allow you to use a standard POP3 account, but require you to
 use their own email client, usually to be sure you don't filter their
 spam or the spam people pay them to pass thru their filters. MiserMail
 won't work with these services. So far in our experience this applies
 only to Juno, Earthlink in some rural areas, and msn.com in most
 circumstances, though one user reports using MiserMail with an msn.com
 POP3 account. If in doubt, ask your ISP if they will allow you to use
 your own "POP3" email client.

Public Key Encryption

       Does not use public keys (authentication by third parties required)
 for message encryption or encrypted digital signatures. Does not
 support advanced encryption schemes for file attachments. Individual
 message encryption based on simple passwords, and message database
 encryption is provided.

Importing from other email programs

       MiserMail will import address books from Outlook Express and other
 programs that can export to a comma-separated (aka "delimited") file.
 But it does not currently import messages. This means you will need to
 run your old program to look up any messages received before the date
 MiserMail starts to collect messages.

Not a client/server database

       MiserMail is not suitable for large offices where multiple users
 need to access the same messages at the same time on different
 computers. However it is suitable for large offices where each person
 keeps their own email separate (the usual case).

Broadcasts

       Misermail only broadcasts in one way - the way you want to
 broadcast anyway. Each recipient in your broadcast gets their message
 as if you sent it to them individually. This prevents your broadcast
 from looking like spam (i.e. To: line missing or inaccurate) which
 could cause a recipient's spam filter to remove it, and prevents
 disclosing all recipient's addresses to every recipient, as often
 happens (unintentionally). Recipients will appreciate it, and it helps
 to fight spam.

English only

       Our apologies to our friends in far away places! Removing spam is
 mostly a language event on a very subtle level, and we only know how
 to speak English (well, we know how to say "The burro is very
 intelligent" in Spanish). MiserMail will work best in the US and
 Canada, but will work nearly as well in other English speaking places
 (we're working on this).
 
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