Anti Spam - SpamUnit

Just as Bill Gates promised, Microsoft are turning computer power against spammers in an attempt to stop Outlook 2007 being used as a spam solution. The E-mail postmark was introduced primarily as an SMTP spam filter; that is, it checks for spam going out of a mailbox, not coming in.

It works in two ways. First, it analyzes the message to determine whether or not it is spam. Bayesian data analysis is employed to determine whether or not the message is spam. If it’s not, then the computer is asked to carry out a brief, invisible puzzle before the message is sent. Once the puzzle is complete, it attaches the postmark. This slows down mass-mailing to thousands of addresses - in order to discourage mass-spamming - but does not affect regular or moderate users, whose mails will still be sent in a timely fashion.

However, the system has some limitations. Firstly, at the moment only certain Microsoft software packages recognize it. It is quite meaningless to the Eudora spam blocker (SpamWatch), for example. Although it is also recognized by Microsoft email servers, such as Microsoft Exchange, spam filter technology on non-MS servers will, again, fail to recognize it. So, unless the email user has Microsoft software either at the end-user or server level, it will not affect them. Secondly, as it’s outbound only, and thus is only a one-way spam gateway, spammers may simply switch to other types of spam software to carry out their work, thus negating the slowdown factor of Outlook 2007.

It is an interesting system - and has the advantage of being free to use - but until it is adopted by more clients, it is not the final answer to the question of how to prevent spam, although those who are behind a Microsoft Exchange Server may find it helps them.

Bookmark:

Wikipedia users have compiled a comparative list of features of many email programs: see wikipedia for a full list. This list is particularly important for choosing an email client based on spam filtering and spam protection services. It also provides a list of which clients are free.

If you want to see whether your email client supports in-client spam protection, or whether it supports server-side spam filtering (such as an Exchange spam filter), this is an ideal list to use. Some clients have their own in-built spam filters, while others plug into SpamAssassin or other spam blockers. Some also offer phishing filtering.

Also extremely important is how each client deals with HTML email. HTML can be used in emails to include images or special links that spammers use to deceive users, or to breach spam blocking software. Each client may deal with HTML in a different way, so it’s worth looking int exactly how they render HTML email messages.

Of course, while plenty of email clients have their own protection, many users still use spam list technology to guarantee a greater incidence of blocking spam from reaching their inboxes. Still, with numerous freeware packages on the market, as well as professional solutions, it’s worth researching your choice of client.

Bookmark:

Have you just upgraded to Outlook 2007 from Outlook 2003 or Outlook Express? Spam, of course, is sent to you regardless of what email client you use, but Outlook spam filtering can greatly decrease the amount you actually see. However, some people have found it difficult to configure the 2007 version of Outlook’s spam filter; thankfully, there are some guides available to help the user set it up.

Microsoft’s official site describes Outlook spam protection. The new, improved “Junk E-mail Filter” is turned on by default and is set to low. Some bloggers find this more than sufficient, but you can set it to High. While this is ideal for users who receive a great deal of spam, Microsoft suggests checking the Junk E-mail Folder to see if any legitimate messages have slipped through the net.

Another part of the Junk E-Mail Filter is the spam list, or Junk E-Mail Filter List. There are five different list types that are automatically maintained, but also allow user customization; using downloaded spam lists, you can block certain senders or even whole top-level domains; for example, if you wish to avoid Russian spam, you can block all Russian mail. (See http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/outlook/HA012300261033.aspx for more.)

Of course, extra spam blocking software or anti spam software is also recommended for those whose spam problems will just not go away. After all, some critics (see http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/05/26/65-reasons-why-outlook-2007-will-suck) have said that the manual spam blocking process in Outlook is cumbersome and works on a “one at a time” basis. Perhaps, then, some users need more antispam software.

Bookmark:

The Register, noted UK IT reporters, have fired a shot across Hotmail’s bow by criticising their spam protection techniques. Apparently Hotmail’s spam filtering system does not reach their high standards. With the data they present, it’s clear to see why they feel that way: Hotmail’s “contact list” system allows approved senders to reach Hotmail accounts with impunity, and somehow a Hotmail account associated with The Register was judged to have a “viagra.com” email on its contact list. Needless to say, this seems to be a major error in Hotmail’s spam filters.

However, there is another side to the story. Spam white listing is also important to Hotmail’s business customers, so they cannot be seen to be too aggressive with all forms of e mail marketing. It’s important for them to find a balance, but the current spam blocker operated by Microsoft seems to be woefully insufficient for most users.

One of web mail’s strengths is that such solutions are usually built-in, as is the case with Google Mail spam filtering and Yahoo spam blockers, but Hotmail, left on its own, seems to be ineffectual at getting rid of spam. With so much choice in the webmail market, one has to wonder if Hotmail is currently worth it.

Read more…

Bookmark: