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General discussion

Spam Slayer: Spam Weapons of Tomorrow

Mar 1, 2004 7:15AM PST

Internet firms turn to technology, not law, to fight the avalanche of spam.

Tom Spring, PC World
Monday, March 01, 2004


High-Tech Weapons
ISPs are on a mission: They're trying to craft the online equivalent of caller ID so they can figure out who is sending spam to their customers and more easily block junk e-mail and prosecute spammers.

Right now, spammers can easily shield their identities to get through your ISP's front door and clutter your in-box. The recently enacted Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) law is supposed to address the spam problem. But ISPs and law enforcement are having a hard time figuring out whom to prosecute.

America Online, Microsoft, and Yahoo are all working on technologies that would enable an ISP to verify that an incoming e-mail message was actually sent from the domain in its return address--and if not, reveal the real source. In addition to helping authorities track down offenders, these technologies would give ISPs the power to block e-mail with forged source information.

More: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114995,tk,dn030104X,00.asp

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