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M1CUK > INFO 29.11.02 21:44l 131 Lines 5600 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : EC2737M1CUK
Read: DB0FHN GUEST
Subj: anti spam problems
Path: DB0FHN<DB0ZWI<DB0HDF<DB0ERF<DB0FBB<DB0GOS<ON0AR<ON0AR<GB7FCR
Sent: 021129/1836Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:30970 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:EC2737M1
From: M1CUK@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : INFO@WW
Anti-spam filters kill legitimate emails
By John Leyden
Posted: 29/11/2002 at 11:07 GMT
Heavy-handed anti-spam filtering can frequently lead to the loss of
legitimate emails.
That's the warning from email appliance vendor, Mirapoint, which has
integrated improved anti-spam technology in its Message Server and Message
Director products.
Most anti-spam products available today employ brute-force comparison
techniques or narrowly-focused filters which are easily out-manoeuvred by
spammers. These products have a high risk of false positives, lost emails
and compromised privacy, the company argues.
Mirapoint reckons over-zealous filtering has serious drawbacks not through
reference to independent research or even through tests on the many
anti-spam solutions. No, the belief comes through its own work in
developing in-house technology, which replaces spam filtering technology
from Trend Micro previously bundled with its appliances.
Intuitively, we believe Mirapoint is right in its assessment that
anti-spam filters can block legitimate emails, but we have no proof. Nor
does Mirapoint.
Oh well.
Anti-spam is the new anti-virus
We are struck by the sheer volume of companies bringing anti-spam
solutions in recent weeks to market. As spam volumes increase, the need
for anti-spam products grows. Entry costs for vendors are low, and so
we're seeing a growth in the anti-spam market comparable to that of the
anti-virus market in the early 1990s.
One of the difficulties reporting of this market is there's little or no
intelligence on the effectiveness of rival products. We harbour a nagging
suspicion that many commercial products are little more effective than
open source or Internet community initiatives that have been going on for
some time.
Steve Ashmore, lead consultant at Mirapoint, told us at the UK launch that
its improved anti-spam technology is differentiated by giving end users
control of spam policies and by using multiple techniques to "search and
destroy" spam. There's also the ease of deployment that comes from an
appliance approach, he argued.
Mirapoint's anti-spam technology employs a combination of heuristic
rules-based scanning, white and black lists, content filtering, and other
key security features like SMTP-based authentication. Configurable
network-based updates to Mirapoint's heuristic rules engine as new filters
allow the device to keep up with spammers.
Mirapoint's appliances also handle MMS messages sent over the Internet,
which Ashmore predicts will be an increasing risk in the future. The
company is targeting telecoms operators, large enterprises and
universities with its technology.
Mirapoint's anti-spam technology is available immediately for the
Mirapoint Message Server and Message Director products, as an update to
Mirapoint Messaging Operating System 3.3 software. Pricing starts at
$25,000 for 20,000 users.
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BTo anti-spam move kills its users' mail servers
By John Leyden
Posted: 27/11/2002 at 15:20 GMT
BTopenworld anti-spam measures introduced today are preventing customers
with dynamic IPs from running their own mail servers.
The prohibition comes after that the ISP blocked inbound port 25
communications on all of its narrowband services (except Connect LAN with
static IP address) and most of its broadband services. Of these only
Business ADSL service with static IP option and Satellite services - both
of which are expensive for mainstream consumers - are unaffected by the
change.
BTo said it was only introducing policies already introduced by other
ISPs. It said only a very small number of users would be affected by the
changes, which it argues are part of the steps ISPs need to take in
tackling the spam problem.
In a policy update, BTo explains that the move will prevent Internet
Connection Sharing software that exposes your Internet session to the rest
of the Internet from being used by spammers to send unsolicited emails.
The frustration from users over the move which they tell us was done
without notice (BTo says its impractical to give notice on network changes
made for operational reasons, like this).
Stewart Gilray told us the first he heard of the issue was when he came
home and found his home mail server had died. Other users have similar
complaints and express frustration in dealing with BTo support staff in
connection with the move. Users question the effectiveness of the measure,
which they argue is the wrong way of dealing with the problems open mail
relays pose in the overall spam problem.
Adam Davies expresses widespread concerns that the change will make it too
expensive for him to run his home mail server using his BTopenworld
account.
"This affects all narrowband and broadband users unless they are on a
static IP," he told us. "If you aren't on a static IP then unless you pay
them an extra £30 per month you have to use their own mail servers which
are notorious for going down and losing your mail".
A spokesman for BTo said the port blocking was separate from its recently
announced agreement to use anti-spam services from Brightmail. ISPs need
to tackle the spam problem on multiple fronts, he argued, saying that
BTo's policy would benefit most users.
----------------------------------
73's
Trev,
SysOp GB7FCR
E-Mail trev@gb7fcr.co.uk
Web Site http://www.gb7fcr.co.uk
AX25 - tcp/ip - Telnet - axip - RF & Internet Linked System's
Message timed: 17:34 on 29 Nov 02
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