THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY March 30, 2004
Bayesian filter _____________ SPONSORED BY: Win a wireless keyboard and mouse! Enter our daily Info Quest contest -- each response qualifies you for our daily prize draw! Each time you enter (once per day, Monday-Friday) also gives you a chance in the final draw for a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse on April 15. Congratulations to Sherry Arconti for winning Monday's drawing! Your prize is in the mail. ______________________ TODAY'S WORD: Bayesian filter See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci957306,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 A Bayesian filter is a program that uses Bayesian logic, also called Bayesian analysis, to evaluate the header and content of an incoming e-mail message and determine the probability that it constitutes spam. Bayesian logic is an extension of the work of the 18th-century English mathematician Thomas Bayes. Bayesian filters aren't perfect, but because spam characteristically contains certain types of text, such a program can be amazingly effective when it is fine-tuned over a period of time. A Bayesian filter works by categorizing e-mail into groups such as "trusted" and "suspect," based on a probability number (ranging from 0 or 0% to 1 or 100%). The categories are defined according to user preference. Spammers are constantly trying to invent new ways to defeat spam filters. Certain words, commonly identified as characteristic of spam, can be altered by the insertion of symbols such as periods, or by the use of nonstandard but readable characters such as Â, Ç, Ë, or Í. But as the user instructs a Bayesian filter to quarantine or delete certain messages, the filter incorporates this data into its future actions. Thus a Bayesian filter improves with time, so it becomes more likely to block spam without also blocking desired messages. Bayesian filters are best used in conjunction with anti-virus programs. Malicious viruses or worms can occasionally appear as attachments to e-mail messages, even from trusted sources. ______________________ RELATED TERMS: Bayesian logic http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci548993,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 probability http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci549076,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 spam http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci213031,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 worm http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci213386,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: Eric Weisstein's MathWorld defines Bayesian analysis. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/BayesianAnalysis.html Audiotrieve offers a Bayesian spam filter called InBoxer. http://www.inboxer.com/MediaKit/InBoxerReviewersGuide.pdf _____________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: ORACLE SENSORS RFID DATA Oracle this morning announced a new set of sensor-based applications that manage and analyze data from RFID readers. http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid41_gci957327,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 SAS ISSUES 'ITS MOST SIGNIFICANT RELEASE' The analytics giant is out with its long-anticipated SAS 9 platform, promising to widen the reach of predictive analytics to more business users. http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid11_gci957432,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 TRILLIAN WON'T FIX ENTERPRISE IM INTEROPERABILITY Though the Trillian instant messaging client offers a limited form of IM integration, experts say it's not the answer to the enterprise IM interoperability problem. However, those experts are optimistic that interoperable IM products are coming soon. http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid7_gci957387,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com?track=NL-34&ad=479408 ______________________ SECRET WORD-OF-THE-DAY | What is IT? This is a handy little storage device that's about the size of a marking pen. Do you think you know the Secret Word? Click to see if you're right! http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/gDefinition/0,294236,sid40_gci869057,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 ______________________ DO YOU SPEAK GEEK? | Passwords Take a quick quiz and see how many password-related terms you know! http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci957024,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 ______________________ CAREER CENTER | Dice.com Looking for a new job? Visit the WhatIs.com Career Center powered by Dice and find over 37,000 tech positions to choose from. And get the career resources you need to set yourself apart from other job seekers. Find training and certification resources, get help with your resume and more. Visit today! http://whatis.techtarget.com/dice/0,294542,sid9,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408&Offer=dicewhssrp34 ______________________ HOROSCOPES FOR GEEKS | March Find out what the stars have in store for you the rest of this month! http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci919205,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES (1) home network http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci213434,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 (2) real life http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci554245,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 (3) cocooning http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci956291,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 (4) canned air http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci956267,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 (5) broadband voice gateway http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci956311,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=479408 ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: MARGARET ROUSE, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) IVY WIGMORE, Consulting Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) LOWELL THING, Consulting Editor and Founder ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) GABRIELLE DERUSSY, Advertising ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ::::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER :::::::::::::::::::::: This e-newsletter is published by WhatIs.com, a targeted Web site from TechTarget, the most targeted IT media and events company. 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