Microsoft to flag 'good' spam :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Microsoft to flag 'good' spam

Posted by admin on Wednesday, May 05, 2004 - 11:55 PM

MICROSOFT has contracted for a service that lets email from legitimate companies more easily reach people's inboxes.
By marking certain bulk mail as "good," Microsoft hopes to ultimately filter out the remaining unsolicited mail more aggressively, said George Webb, business manager for Microsoft's anti-spam group. The idea is to address a common complaint now faced by email providers: that they block too much legitimate mail erroneously. The tool Microsoft will now use, from IronPort Systems, requires bulk senders to post a bond to participate. If any bulk mailer draws too many complaints from recipients, money is deducted and donated to a charity committed to fighting spam. Google, Cnet and about 50 other senders of newsletters and other commercial mailings are currently participating, said Scott Weiss, IronPort's chief executive. He said a few participants have been fined or ejected already, but he would not name them. Microsoft's endorsement of IronPort could persuade additional email senders as well as email providers to join, Weiss said. Messages bonded through IronPort still go through spam filters at Hotmail and MSN, but are given a high legitimacy score to increase their likelihood of passing. Recipients won't have the ability to give such messages special treatment - such as by having them automatically go to a junk folder. John Levine, co-author of "Fighting Spam for Dummies," said the system can help prevent legitimate mail from disappearing but would do little to directly stop spam. And if service providers crank up filters on remaining mail as a result, he said, mailing lists for small organisations could get hurt.

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