Microsoft readies spam-beating technology

Aiming to cut spam sent to its Hotmail and MSN users, Microsoft is developing a new generation of proofing tools that will augment filters.

Proofing technology requires the sender to authenticate themselves - the idea being that a spammer will not have the time to do so for every email sent.

Microsoft believes that current technologies put an unjust burden on the consumer by requiring users sending mail to reply to an email or to visit a web page.

Ryan Hamlin, Microsoft's general manager for anti-spam technology and strategy, will tell delegates at an email conference in San José, California, later today about technology currently being developed by the company.

The technology will authenticate the sender by giving his or her computer a hash algorithm - effectively a little software puzzle that takes some time to solve.

"We have this general idea about a 20-second CPU cycle," Hamlin told vnunet.com. Consumers "will not notice it. But if you are a spammer getting 10,000 challenges, you are certainly going to notice it. You won't be able to handle it.

"As soon as we have enough of these proof tools out there, that's when we can really lock down the filters."

The proofing technology is scheduled to be available within the next 12 months.

Hotmail currently blocks 2.7 billion spam messages per day, or 77 per cent of all messages sent to its account holders. Hamlin estimates that roughly 10 per cent of spam still gets through.

The new proofing technology will allow the company to reach its goal of blocking 98 to 99 per cent of all spam for MSN and Hotmail users in the next two years, he said, to make spam only the occasional message.

See also:

New blow for Sender ID as AOL joins disbelievers

More embarrassment for Microsoft as major ISP rejects anti-spam initiative  17 Sep 2004

MSN Search claims to freeze out web spam

Microsoft unveils its forthcoming attempt to dethrone Google  11 Jun 2004

ISPs losing battle against spam

Anti-spam measures failing to halt deluge of unwanted email  09 Jun 2004

ITU to hold spam summit

Telcos and ISPs invited to tackle growing menace of junk email  04 Jun 2004

Microsoft to embrace SPF anti-spam tools

Caller ID to be merged with domain authentication scheme to thwart spammers and phishers  27 May 2004

Microsoft bonds against spammers

Bonded Sender scheme allows legitimate commercial email to bypass anti-spam filters  06 May 2004

Gartner slams Microsoft spam plans

Analyst critical of proposed Caller ID for Email authentication initiative  04 Mar 2004

Junk mail

The term 'spam' may have been popularised by a Monty Python sketch but, in the electronic world, junk mail is far from a laughing matter.  06 Jun 2003

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