JunkBroom1.1

It's working fine on my copy of Office 2004...

Again, if you get any errors, especially of the kind the two most recent posters have, check if you are using Panther or at least Jaguar and a recent version of Office v. X (> 10.2). Also, I have one unconfirmed report that JunkBroom doesn't work on Office 2004, which I don't have, so there are no guarantees (for now) that it'll work there.

I also get the "script could not be run. The end of file was reached" message when using the "mark as junk" script. I can't tell if it is working and don't know how to tell:-) Any help gratefully received. Cheers, Grant

I have put up a ZIP file on the product page now. The only problem is that you have to uncompress it using Panther's built-in ZIP facility (or else Type/Creator codes aren't preserved).

I have downloaded the .dmg file again and I'm still having the same problem. This is not a unique problem, apparently it is a big issue in the Mac community and it first came up since some later builds of Jaguar. Apple has provided no information or help yet.

Frankly, I was skeptical of any junk mail filter when I saw this and I really did not want to pay for something to get rid of something I did not want or did not ask for in the first place - junk mail. My biggest fear was that some real mail would get filtered with such a program. In fact I had developed a set of scripts in Entourage to learn about and filter my junk mail. I had also thought about posting them on an exchange board for all to use, such as MacOSX Hints. My skepticism had not diminished when I saw JunkBroom, but since it was free I decided to experiment with it. I have now been using the program for over 3 weeks now. I followed the instructions for Panther and watched it evolve and grow, installing each new update. I have communicated with the author with suggestions. It now pleases me to say that it is now the only product I use to filter my junk mail. It does an exceptional and accurate job of getting rid of my spam. I have not lost or had filtered a single good message. I have archived my own scripts and no longer see a need to publish them. With a free product like this available, their simply is no need. What it does not filter it learns quickly and easily so once taught the offending item is never seen again. I currently regard it to be an outstanding product and an obvious exceptional value. The author has not incorporated all my suggestions into the product but has instead responded to me in a thoughtful. courteous and professional manner as to why he has not, with well thought out reasons. As far as I am concerned, while not having used other anti-spam programs but having read reviews, this program can replace and exceed most if not all of them and save the user time and money. Its only competitor would seem to be those programs that filter the spam before it is download, which I regard as somewhat risky since you could possibly lose messages should the filter make a mistake. However for dial-up access that could be a real timesaver - not having to download spam. For broadband connections, this is usually is not an issue and I would rather use JunkBroom. To address the Jaguar Install comments, the ReadMe of this product indicates that a manual install of the product is required and gives step-by-step instructions on how to do it. It is not a complex task. Based on my current experience, pre 1.0, I give this product my highest recommendation for usability, value, functionality, and customer service. Until Microsoft includes this, or something this good or better with in a future release of Entourage I urge everyone with any kind of a spam problem to try this product.

I just confirmed that the installer does indeed /not/ work on Jaguar. So 10.2 will only work if you copy the files yourself.

If it helps, a quick way to teach the filters, if like me you file your good emails in a multitude of different folders... Firstly get rid of all your current Spam... Highlight your 'Email' folder (within which are hopefully all your filing folders) Perform an advanced find, on current folder ('Email'), check 'include subfoldrs' and find '@' in the From field. Entourage will puff and wheeze a little, but will eventually generate a search list of ALL your emails (assuming each From address contains an '@'!) Highlight one entry in the search results, under the Edit menu select 'Select All' and now select the 'Mark as NOT junk' script. Hopefully in the time it takes to drink 2 cups of coffee, you've taught the system something worthwhile... Thus far, the system has correctly identified 86 items of spam, failed to spot 3 spam messages, and hasn't selected anything I wouldn't want it to have selected! All in all, a worthwhile addition to my Entourage routine; I've put the app in my log in items and marked it invisible; my final rule is to run the Check For Junk script, so it all seems to take reasonable care of itself. Now if only someone could speed up the processing of scripts! One final point... when I installed, my Entourage didn't include a Junk folder (which I might have inadvertantly deleted, I can't be sure). Naturally the scripts didn't much appreciate this! So, I created my own, OUTSIDE of the main 'Email' folder (so allow the routine above to function correctly), and so far, so good! Hope it helps someone.

I have been using my own Entourage rules and scripts that "learn" and do a pretty good job. That's why I have never bothered paying for something that should be in Entourage to begin - a good junk mail handler. I have also suspected with all the spam clamoring, Microsoft will do a considerable beefing up of its junk mail filter in its next release. All that being said, I have cautiously tried this product and at first run through it seems to do a great job. So against some of my better judgment I am incorporating into my rules and tossing some of my own filters. What scares me is not that this might work, but that it is a work in progress and that the developer is using the current version as a beta test for a final release that will be fee based. I generally resent being used, without my knowledge, as a beta tester and then being hit with a surprise fee when a final release is produced. It is sort of like treating your user base like mushrooms if you know what I mean. Most certainly I want to see what Microsoft will do for spam filtering before I lay down any money on a long term product commitment. I also don't want to be a victim of a "hit and run" product - one that is charged for and supported for a few months then disappears after the developer has made their money. The bottom line is that given the version number and the current statement that the product is free, I sincerely hope that the developer will state their intentions regarding the cost, if any for the final release, so that the current user base can make an informed decision as to their desire to continue to use and test it. I hope to do a full usage report later after I have spent more time with it.

It does a pretty good job. After only 6 hours of feeding it with good an d bad messages it by far better than the Entourage Junkmail filter.