It doesn't get anymore official than this to demonstrate how e-mails to
users of AOL, Verizon or Yahoo are occasionally going into a black hole . .
. In this morning's WSJ:
-koose.
= = = = = = = = = =
WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 3, 2006; Page D1
SPAM FILTERS GONE WILD
Spate of Incidents at Verizon, AOL Point to Growing Problem
Of Blocking Legitimate Email
By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO
Internet companies are taking more aggressive steps to stop the flow of
unwanted email. In a significant number of cases, though, consumers complain
that the efforts increasingly are blocking the good along with the bad.
** Possibly millions of AOL members were temporarily unable to receive some
mail from Google Inc.'s Gmail users last week after AOL held up messages
from some new Gmail servers over concerns it might be spam.
** An AOL software update recently resulted in a stoppage of mail that
mentioned at least 60 Internet addresses. An update of Verizon Communication
Inc.'s spam filters recently sparked widespread complaints from consumers
who were unable to receive and send messages.
The companies blamed the problems on software glitches or communication
failures and often fixed them within hours. Tight precautions are necessary,
the companies say, since spam can threaten online security and safety -- a
more serious problem than the nuisance of a few missed messages.
** But others say the incidents are a troubling sign that new antispam
measures may be going too far, contributing to everything from lost
real-estate deals and blocked banking transactions to bruised relationships
caused by unreturned emails that never got through to friends in the first
place.
Recently, Mark Fleischer, a 24-year-old commercial real-estate broker in
Tampa, Fla., was waiting for his client's final approval to go ahead and bid
on a $175,000 condo after emailing him a list of the prices for comparable
properties.
But Yahoo Inc. blocked his client's response telling him to go ahead with
the deal, and Mr. Fleischer lost the sale. Yahoo says in such cases it aims
to help the sender fix the problem by sending him a rejection message with
informational links.
As much as 20% of legitimate bulk commercial email -- which includes mail
users sign up to receive as well as online statements and receipts -- gets
caught in spam filters, according to Ferris Research, a San Francisco-based
market researcher.
The best filters, however, make such mistakes for email between
acquaintances only about once a month, according to Ferris.
Most state-of-the art filters now employ filtering techniques that typically
involve examining the language in the email (does it include combinations of
words often found in spam but not legitimate email?), the mail server
sending the email (it is a computer that appears to be affected by a virus?)
and past messages from the sender (has it sent spam before?).
They also are asking their customers to help.
** AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., stores messages its users report as spam
in a database it analyzes for patterns.
Yahoo continually adjusts its technology based on its members' use of a
"This is spam/Not spam" buttons.
The steps are generating victories in the war on spam. The number of spam
messages the average consumer receives annually fell 17% to 3,253 in 2005
from 2003, according to Jupiter Research, and is expected to plummet to
1,640 by 2010.
** AOL says its members report that the amount of spam in their in-boxes has
fallen by more than 75% since the fall of 2003.
But some consumers are complaining about the unintended consequences.
The latest Verizon hitch left Lauren Weinstein, a computer consultant from
Woodland Hills, Calif., unable to help a friend fix his computer over email
when the message, along with messages to roughly four more friends and
colleagues whose Verizon accounts he subsequently tested, got blocked.
"I started seeing rejection messages coming back immediately from Verizon,"
he says. Mr. Weinstein requested an investigation online. Verizon says it
acted to fix the glitch and had email flowing normally within 48 hours.
Samantha McManus, business-strategy manager for the
technology-care-and-safety group at Microsoft Corp., says the risk of
regular email getting rejected has risen as spam filtering has improved
beyond catching only obvious junk mail.
"We constantly have to make a decision about how aggressive we want to be,"
she says.
The dilemma has prompted some companies to push spam-fighting techniques
designed to more accurately distinguished between wanted and unwanted email.
Over the past couple of years, Microsoft has been trying to prevent spam to
its Hotmail users through a program called Sender ID that allows Microsoft
to verify that an email is coming from the domain it claims it is from.
Companies become known as "Sender ID compliant" by publishing a list of IP
addresses authorized to send mail under their domains.
Last month, Microsoft reported that when looking at emails that pass a
Sender ID check versus a sample of incoming "good" e-mail, there was up to
80% reduction in the level of mail wrongly classified as spam. Microsoft
reports that more than 3 million domains are sending Sender ID compliant
mail world-wide.
Yahoo -- the leading email site with more than 54 million unique monthly
visitors, according to Nielsen/NetRatings -- has been pushing a similar
standard called DomainKeys that generates a digital signature in the header
of an email message that Yahoo checks against published registry information
to verify the sender's identity.
Such authentication techniques are gaining steam as the industry grapples
with other ways to ensure consumers see the emails they want to see.
** AOL will soon partner with authentication service Goodmail Systems Inc.
to allow some companies to pay fractions of a cent per email for their
emails to skip its spam filters altogether.
Yahoo has announced that it will begin testing the service for transactional
emails, such as electronic banking statements. To sign up for the service,
companies must meet qualification criteria such as ensuring they only send
messages to those who request them or contacts with whom they have an
existing business relationship.
** AOL says the program will be a boon to consumers by helping them receive
trusted email.
** But the program has prompted a host of complaints from consumer advocacy
groups who say it is moving to a system of tiered email delivery that favors
senders who can afford to pay to reach consumers.
** And while such programs will help consumers identify the legitimate
emails from the fakes, it is not a substitute for spam prevention nor does
it address complaints that spam filtering is often a blunt instrument.
** AOL user K.C. Eynatten of Houston crossed wires with a business
acquaintance last month when AOL appeared to be blocking her contact's
incoming messages as spam. She detected the glitch after a missed
appointment.
** "I don't want to change my email address but this is just so incredibly
frustrating," says the 54-year-old head of an arts foundation, whose
daughter recently stopped sending her mail from her Gmail account after it
was repeatedly blocked as junk.
There are several measures consumers can take if they suspect their emails
are getting caught in a spam trap. Adding an address to your online address
book will often ensure that emails from that sender are delivered to you.
** AOL lets members tune their spam filters to one of four different
settings.
** Senders suspecting their emails haven't been received should try sending
(or forwarding) the message again.
** They can also request to be added to a "white list" of approved senders,
which may require them to disclose their email address and server addresses.
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