Qurb 2.1 Requires a Close Eye

The latest edition of Qurb's namesake anti-spam system is easy to set up, but it sometimes tags legitimate messages as suspect.

Qurb 2.1, the latest edition of Qurbs namesake anti-spam system, integrates directly with Microsofts Outlook and Outlook Express. This integration makes the product a decent second line of defense for corporate users who dont get a lot of mail from new people.

eWEEK Labs looked at the first release of Qurb a year ago, which is just about forever in spam years. The new version builds on Qurbs easy installation and foolproof integration with Microsofts e-mail client.

Click here to read eWEEK Labs review of several desktop anti-spam tools, including Qurb 2.0. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Although it was simple for me to start blocking spam with Qurb, I also found that the product needed a lot of tender loving care from me to make sure good mail was getting to my in-box. I had to frequently unblock mail from new senders that was filtered by Qurb because the sender wasnt on my "allow" list.

I get a lot of unsolicited e-mail in the course of my job as a reviewer. For someone like me—or anyone who routinely gets "good" e-mail from new senders on a frequent basis—using Qurb means frequently checking the Qurb quarantine folder.

Its not that difficult to check the Qurb folder, and, believe me, I love having most of the spam that makes it past the anti-spam filter at the perimeter of our e-mail system immediately sent to the hole. Its just that I dont like having to check every hour or so for mail that I really do want to read.

Once a sender is put on the "allow" list, mail gets through without a hitch.

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