Flush it out
What is Spam Scope
Spam Scope is our new e-mail control service. With Spam Scope you are able to flush out most spam and porno while easily blocking or accepting mail as desired. The key word with Spam Scope is YOU!.. Most spam filters are set at the Internet providers servers and you have no control over what mail you receive. Spam Scope does require you to tell it how you want mail control. Spam Scope requires a little attention from you to get it set but we think you will see that it is worth the effort. It was designed so you can have "Your Mail"  "Your Way."
If you do not want mail filtering, then do nothing. It will not affect anything if you do not set it.
Some Benefits
Spam Scope works with all e-mail programs such as Outlook Express, Netscape Mail etc. It works especially well with our own Web Mail  program. As a PVNS subscriber you have access to your own Spam Scope and Web Mail. Unlike some Internet providers, we allow you to use it on all of your e-mail accounts and not just your primary account. Since most viruses are transmitted via junk e-mail, keeping it out of your computer reduces your chances of being infected with a virus.
How to set Up Spam Scope

For maximum protection against losing any mail and keeping suspicious junk out of your computer, here is what we suggest.

WEB MAIL:
Open your Web Mail http://webmail.pvns.net/ Click on "Folders" - "Choose Action" - then - "Create Folder". Create a new folder named Spam. (To get into Web Mail you must use your complete e-mail address and password) When you set up Spam Scope, set it to dump spam to the spam folder. This helps you set the Spam Scope strength as you can check the Spam Folder from time to time to see if your are filtering any good mail. (Or you can just set Spam Scope to delete the spam if you would rather)

If you don't want to bother with Web Mail, another way to determine the strength needed is to check the "Possible Spam" warning box. It will then send all spam (with the warning) to your inbox in whatever e-mail program you use. This will let you monitor and adjust it. When you are satisfied you can go back in Spam Scope and have it just delete all spam.

SPAM SCOPE:
Next. Open Spam Scope by going to www.pvns.net and click Spam Scope. Again use your complete e-mail address and password to enter. To set Spam Scope, click the box at the top and review all the options. Here you can set it to dump to your spam folder, mark it, or delete it etc. Notice the strength settings. They are set at 10 as default. This is a safe setting and will not catch a lot of spam. By clicking on "Set Custom Settings" you can slide the custom setting bar to the left for more filtering. (See notice below) Lower numbers are stronger filtering. We recommend sliding the bar a little at the time and watching it for a few days by looking at the Spam Folder in Web Mail. If you are not dumping any good mail, then slide it lower. CAUTION:  When you change any setting - wait until you get a conformation back and click OK, before clicking anything else. When done, click Logout. This sets only one account. If you have other accounts, they must be done individually.

NOTICE: It has been discovered that Spam Scope may not retain all the settings the first time you activate it. To be sure we suggest you first click the box to activate Spam Scope then set everything except the strength setting and then logout. Open Spam Scope again and set the strength setting by clicking on the red text and dragging the strength bar to the left to a lower number. When changing any setting wait for a conformation box to OK before logging out.

Looking at the bottom of the settings page, notice you can add e-mail addresses to bypass the filter, or be blocked.

NOTICE: After making any changes in Spam Scope, you may need log out and then come back and reset the strength bar. It may revert back to the DEFAULT #10 setting. We hope to have this corrected soon.
My Personal Experience
The Administrator account at PVNS was getting around 150 junk messages per day. (Several other accounts were getting nearly as many) This meant I had to look at every one of them and delete them one by one. It also meant I had to be careful with filtering so I did not miss important messages from customers. I did as described above and currently have the strength set at 2. I now only get 5 or 6 junk mails a day (on each account) and I am not losing any good mail. Thank God for Spam Scope.

NOTICE: Your settings may be different depending on what kinds of mail you get, or want. I am not telling, or even suggesting you set your strength that low. Please determine your own settings.

NO mail filter will get all Junk Mail but this one does a very good job and you don't need to worry about missing important mail if you set it as suggested above.

If you have any questions about Web Mail or Spam Scope,  E-mail them to tech@pvns.net and we will try to answer them ASAP.

Thanks:    Dan Hiscock   www.pvns.net

P.S. Google has a neat little free toolbar/search thing that you can download easily. It blocks most pop-ups and has some features you may like. It does take up about 1/2 inch of space at the top of your page though. http://toolbar.google.com/