Fighting off spam is not an easy task, but with some specialized help, one can successfully get rid of this nuisance. An important part in this endeavor is identifying the source of unwanted emails or other unsolicited messages.

Sam Spade aims to do just that and it comes fully equipped for this job. Installation is a breeze, it takes a mere 5 clicks to get to the end, without having to configure anything more than the location where you want it to reside. Even though not too stylish, the interface is practical and easy to understand, while the menus offer a variety of handy functions.

The software can perform DNS checks, fast or slow traceroute operations, as well as ping, whois or SMTP verifications. A very useful feature is the 'blacklist' check that enables you to check if a domain is listed on MAPS (Mail Abuse Prevention System).

Scanning addresses, viewing raw HTML sources of webpages or crawling websites can be also done with a few clicks. The configuration area of Sam Spade is quite generous insofar as the customization of the application's running options is concerned. It includes many GUI-related settings as well as those needed to fine-tune logging, scripting or traceroute functions.

A big plus for this tool is its ability to log everything it does for later reviewing. If you dig a bit deeper you'll find something else that is at least as useful, namely the ability to report abusive e-mail senders. Another great thing we discovered during our tests is that it operates in high-gear at all times, displaying the domain, IP or traceroute information in a few seconds.

Even though, at first glance, it looks like it's aimed at power users, after a few minutes of tinkering with this utility, less tech-savvy users will be able to make good use of it. All Sam Spade needs is a chance to prove just how useful it can actually be!