In computer news this week:

Lead: Microsoft and others join the spam battle:

The following message is currently on the Microsoft.com website:

Spammers should start looking for another line of work.

Their exploitation of the Internet has spurred many people and organizations to team up in an unprecedented effort to stem the flood of unsolicited commercial e-mail that overwhelms inboxes, clogs networks, and costs businesses billions of dollars a year.

Microsoft, working with other technology leaders and with governments, is committed to curbing spam through technological innovation, industry efforts and legal action.

In terms of technological innovation, we are creating more advanced anti-spam tools. Building on work in our research labs, we are designing systems that grow smarter over time – to create spam filters that are more precise, easier to use, and more responsive to customers’ preferences.

In April, we launched an anti-spam initiative with other industry leaders, including AOL, Yahoo!, and Earthlink. Together we are working to identify and restrict e-mail that conceals its source, as spam often does. And we are pooling information about known spammers, to prevent those who are shut down by one e-mail service from simply starting up with another.

We are working with industry and law enforcement agencies to develop and coordinate actions against deceptive and illegal spam. On June 16, Microsoft filed 15 lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom against companies and individuals alleged to be responsible for billions of spam messages sent in violation of state and federal laws.

Part of the challenge in curbing spam lies in distinguishing it from wanted e-mail. We are working with industry and consumer groups to develop guidelines for legitimate commercial e-mail – defining, for example, whether mail is legitimate based on a previous business relationship between the sender and recipient. A clear set of best practices will help responsible businesses to communicate with customers but avoid spamming.

Congress could lend a hand by providing a strong incentive for businesses to adopt e-mail best practices. Our proposal is that an “ADV:” label, for advertisement, be required on all unsolicited commercial e-mail unless the sender comes within a regulatory “Safe Harbor.” This would require compliance with certain e-mail guidelines, confirmed by a self-regulatory organization approved by the Federal Trade Commission.

Computer users could then customize their spam filters to either accept “ADV:”-labeled mail or automatically delete it. Consumers would regain control of their inboxes, and businesses would be encouraged to ensure that their communications are consistent with industry guidelines

An interesting statistic related to this was reported by The Washington Post in April:

"Collectively, AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo have more than 200 million e-mail account holders, both subscription-paying and free".

If we analyze these figures, AOL claims 35 million and Microsoft maybe 10 million users and they are pay services. That means there are over 155,000,000 free Yahoo mail accounts, and free email accounts are one of the biggest parts of the spam problem today.

For Raw Bytes, This is Frank Delaney

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