Companies require spam filters tailored to the needs of their businesses and departments, rather than tools to filter out all spam, according to a recent survey.

Internet and email filtering company SurfControl surveyed IT managers and found that companies may be keen to receive certain kinds of spam.

"IT managers want to receive unsolicited email if it is interesting or if its content is relevant," said Martino Corbelli, marketing director at SurfControl.

"Even though it is a bit of a nuisance they would rather exercise choice on what they want to receive."

Corbelli explained that the survey also found differing attitudes to spam within companies.

"IT departments feel that organisations need more education about how spam affects company resources," he said. "HR and finance departments may not get much spam so it can be difficult to get investment."

The SurfControl survey discovered that 40 per cent of firms had not deployed any technology to filter spam.

A combination of technology, user education and legislation is required to combat unsolicited email, according to experts.

But the SurfControl survey found that few organisations are educating users to deal with spam.

Just 13 per cent indicated that they had a policy to deal with spam, and only 15 per cent had trained staff to deal with unsolicited email.

Eighty per cent of respondents said that more legislation and government action are needed to fight spam. But Corbelli questioned whether such intervention would improve matters.

"Pointing a finger is easy, but what can the government do when it doesn't really understand the issue?" he said.

"It had a spam summit earlier this year, but has anything happened since? You cannot fight this with legislation."