Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Service, Tool Take Meat Out of Spam

    By
    John S. McCright
    -
    July 29, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      A new service and software from MessageLabs Ltd. and Sunbelt Software Inc., respectively, look to stem the rising tide of unsolicited bulk e-mail. (See amount of spam received per user in the United States.)

      MessageLabs is taking the tricks it learned scanning e-mail for viruses and putting it to use scanning e-mail for the unwanted mass mailings called spam. This week, the Minneapolis company will introduce SkyScan AS (Anti-Spam), a service that routes corporate e-mail through four scanners that tag and segregate suspected spam messages before forwarding them to the addressed recipients.

      Separately, Sunbelt is readying upgrades to its IHateSpam client-based spam filtering software, which shipped earlier this month, that will add more network administrator controls.

      MessageLabs service goes beyond typical filters, which simply compare the senders return address with a “black list” of spammers. SkyScan AS also uses the heuristic scanner from the companys anti-virus software and applies rules to every incoming e-mail to see if it has one or more of the 550 characteristics associated with spam.

      Those characteristics might include such things as malformed headers, the word “adult” followed by a URL or white space following a # sign in the subject line, officials said. Before an e-mail is tagged as spam, it has to have several of the characteristics. SkyScan AS also learns from experience and has a self-tuning component, MessageLabs officials said.

      When messages are diverted through the companys 22 filtering sites, delivery is delayed about 1.2 seconds, the officials said.

      Steve Paskach, vice president of IT at Quadion Corp., sees spam as an increasing time waster for Quadion employees. After receiving complaints about pornographic spam, Paskach also sees it as a possible legal liability.

      “Its a growing problem,” said Paskach, in Minneapolis. “The amount we are getting is 70 to 100 a day per person for some people. Thats a problem from a lost-productivity perspective.”

      Quadion is beta testing MessageLabs SkyScan AS. Paskach is willing to let the system flag a couple of e-mail messages that arent spam if it rids him of the real thing.

      “Even if we stop one or two appropriate e-mails, then that is going to have to be the price to pay,” Paskach said.

      Sunbelt, of Clearwater, Fla., takes a different approach. Its IHateSpam software acts as an add-on to individual Microsoft Corp. Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail clients.

      Sunbelt last week added a feature designed to increase the softwares accuracy. Users can hit the Is Spam button to forward instances of unsolicited bulk e-mail to Sunbelts Learning Network Server, where the e-mail is analyzed to see if new filtering rules need to be added to the software. Whenever the program is booted up, it sends a query over the Internet to Sunbelt to see if new filter rules are available.

      Next quarter, Sunbelt will add a console that will let enterprise managers send rules to instances of IHateSpam running on employees desktops, officials said.

      John S. McCright

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×