Anti Spam - SpamUnit

Some new spam statistics have shed light on the fight to get rid of spam, and its perception by the public. Despite the continuing and growing problem of spam mail, internet users are increasingly saying that spam messages are not a big problem. 28% of those interviewed by the Pew Internet & American Life Project say that spam is no problem for them, even though they may receive it.

However, this perhaps indicates the growing trend of using spam protection software and spam filtering software. The majority of email users now use spam filters to keep their inboxes clean - but those who are left behind are increasingly skeptical of email, with 55% saying they mistrust e-mail messages. Some other findings were just as interesting: the poll showed that 37% said the amount of spam they receive had increased in their personal email accounts, while 29% reported the same for work email accounts.

Of course, thsoe who say spam is not a problem almost certainly would prefer to do without it entirely. By employing increased spam prevention software or even a spam gateway, they can see that it goes beyond not being a problem to not being a part of their life.

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Another reason to keep your email address secure comes from Slashdot. A Slashdot columnist points out that even an email address that you think is “secure” can end up on spam lists - and in the most unlikely ways. Seemingly, some companies do not protect their email address data well enough - spam virus software can harvest e-mail addresses from these systems and then inundate the innocent users with spam emails. The fact that a spam filter can block the mails isn’t the point - it’s that seemingly “secure” and reputable companies occasionally fall foul of these techniques.

Many people have multiple email addresses and don’t use their personal address when there’s a possibility of spam protection failing, or spam senders gaining that address. Instead, they use a “dummy” address for these purposes. It seems like sound advice, particularly when stopping spam from reaching your inbox can be a losing battle once it’s in the hand of spammers.

Most companies comply with the various data protection laws, but it’s better to be safe than sorry where spam prevention and virus protection are concerned. A free e mail address for signing online forms can be a worthwhile time investment.

Read full story at SlashDot

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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.

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A recent press release shows that, despite the prevalence of spam filtering software, spam email levels continue to remain high. 88.51% of emails scanned were shown to be junk. Spam, then, continues to grow despite the recent arrest of the Spam King and the amount of spam killer applications available. It seems that this is a part of the internet that, despite its unpopularity, just won’t die. Noted spam expert Diego d’Ambra said, “spammers are still out there and mean business.” That’s an understatement: the industry is growing, and spam levels did not drop between May and June, according to this report. Spam took numerous forms, including text and images, but use of pictures seems to be on the decline as spam filtering software catches up to the technology used by spam companies.

This report isn’t all bad news. Even if it continues to be sent, preventing spam reaching your mailbox seems to be easier than ever; the amount of spam filter software is greater than ever before. But with the industry continuing to evolve, it’s only a matter of time before the next wave of massive attacks takes to the internet.

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For those who know everything about email spam, forum spam may come as a surprise. Message boards, in this “Web 2.0″ age, are increasingly important for online communities and even companies who seek their members’ and customers’ feedback and debate on open forums. However, the days of the truly open forum are all but numbered; automated forum spambots can easily infiltrate such boards to post marketing material, and hence registration - signing up for a forum account - is now extremely common.

A few years ago, this was enough to stop most spammers. Since then, automated form-filler bots have become extremely commonplace; they can easily sign up automatically for hundreds of forums in minutes, using free, automated email services to get accounts for those boards that require email authentication. Then, they are often free to post spam messages until an administrator removes them manually. As such, boards have become even more closed - particularly as forum spam filtering and forum spam blacklisting are not as advanced as their email counterparts.

Spam prevention on forums takes many forms. “Captcha” sign-up is increasingly common; this requires the registration form to include a small image with difficult-to-read letters and symbols printed on it. The registering user must then type what he/she sees into a text box in order for the registration to continue. (For the visually-impaired, a sound-based alternative is sometimes offered, or the ability to email the administrator is given.) This task is easy for most humans but very difficult - yet not impossible - for computer programs. For those spammers that do register, inconveniences such as flood control and tight moderation easily stop them, but at the cost of annoying some legitimate users.

Blacklisting email addresses or certain forum spam terms seems to be the best solution, but it’s increasingly difficult to do so, particularly as forum spam is in its infancy when compared with e-mail spam. When email whitelisting and blacklisting technology can be transposed to the forum arena, the internet will be a better place for it.

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