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

    Spam Tide May Be Turning

    By
    Cameron Sturdevant
    -
    March 1, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Major announcements at the RSA Conference here last week—in addition to recent anti-spam technology advances—mark the beginning of the end of spam as we know it.

      At the conference, Microsoft Corp. introduced its CSRI (Coordinated Spam Reduction Initiative), and Sendmail Inc. announced broad support of SMTP identification schemes.

      Other anti-spam initiatives have moved ahead in recent weeks. The SPF (Sender Policy Framework), championed by Meng Weng Wong, gained traction on the news that it will be formally submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force. Yahoo Inc.s Domain Keys, announced in December, has also bolstered the campaign for e-mail identity technology. Brightmail Inc.s Reputation Service and IronPort Systems Inc.s SMTPi initiative debuted late last month as well.

      The premise of these new tools and initiatives is that once identity is effectively tied to e-mail messages, mail-handling systems will be able to forward legitimate e-mail and trash the forged junk now flooding the Internet.

      eWEEK Labs therefore recommends that IT managers focus their energy on implementing new technology in their e-mail systems, instead of evaluating content-filtering anti-spam tools.

      Because CSRI, SPF and other anti-spoofing technologies are still in the early stages of deployment, content-based anti-spam tools arent dead yet, of course. However, we believe IT managers should shift focus to participating in the pilot programs of e-mail identification systems and spend less time looking at the current crop of content-filtering tools.

      E

      -Mail ID Nitty-Gritty”>

      E-Mail ID Nitty-Gritty

      According to George Webb, group business manager at Microsoft, the first step in the CSRI framework, Caller ID, enables domain owners to assert their identity by adding records to their Domain Name System that allow recipients to verify the address of servers authorized to send e-mail.

      “This is a technical proposal that, if adopted broadly across the e-mail infrastructure, would provide a great tool in fighting domain spoofing,” Webb said in a telephone interview last week.

      The rest of CSRI boils down to a murkier set of mechanisms for senders to prove they are not spammers by using one of two methods. (The CSRI framework is at www.microsoft.com/mscorp/twc/privacy/spam.mspx.)

      Large-volume senders will have to show they conform to rules and guidelines such as those contained in the federal CAN-SPAM legislation that became effective Jan. 1.

      Senders can also buy their way into Bonded Sender, an IronPort program that is administered by TRUSTe. In an interview with eWEEK Labs, Tom Gillis, senior vice president of marketing at IronPort, explained IronPorts Bonded Sender program, in which users post a bond that is debited $10 every time a recipient complains of receiving spam. To date, no money has been paid out from Bonded Sender, Gillis said.

      Individuals and small companies that cant afford to join programs like Bonded Sender could face Microsofts CSRI in the form of the Black Penny program. Black Penny is an anti-spam proposal that would require e-mail programs to process a difficult computational puzzle before e-mail could be sent. In effect, this would force the sender to burn CPU cycles that add cost to e-mail message generation.

      These anti-spam proposals will go before the IETF and other standards bodies for ratification—but probably not until the specifications have become de facto industry norms. Now is the time for IT managers to get involved in the process.

      It is likely that the technology choices made in the next year will set the direction of anti-spam efforts until (and if) SMTP can be completely ripped out and replaced with a reliable mail transport system.

      Senior Analyst Cameron Sturdevant can be contacted at [email protected].

      Cameron Sturdevant
      Cameron Sturdevant is the executive editor of Enterprise Networking Planet. Prior to ENP, Cameron was technical analyst at PCWeek Labs, starting in 1997. Cameron finished up as the eWEEK Labs Technical Director in 2012. Before his extensive labs tenure Cameron paid his IT dues working in technical support and sales engineering at a software publishing firm . Cameron also spent two years with a database development firm, integrating applications with mainframe legacy programs. Cameron's areas of expertise include virtual and physical IT infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise networking and mobility. In addition to reviews, Cameron has covered monolithic enterprise management systems throughout their lifecycles, providing the eWEEK reader with all-important history and context. Cameron takes special care in cultivating his IT manager contacts, to ensure that his analysis is grounded in real-world concern. Follow Cameron on Twitter at csturdevant, or reach him by email at [email protected]

      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
      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      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
      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.

      ×