ISPs Can Slam Spammer Profits ...

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February 16, 2004 (Computerworld) -- ... with new technology that sits on a service provider's network borders and slows spam progress to a costly, slothlike pace. Called Edge GX and developed by Openwave Systems Inc. in Redwood City, Calif., the Linux- or Solaris-based software is the outgrowth of an ad hoc Internet service provider and vendor organization founded last fall with a decidedly uncatchy name, Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, and an even less melodic acronym, MAAWG. Although short on literary or phonetic style, the group is long on clever ideas to hinder spammers, such as getting ISPs to work together to fight pernicious unsolicited e-mail. "We don't defend against spam the same way carrier to carrier," observes Todd Dean, director of data operations and support at Cox Communications Inc. in Atlanta. But with the frightful costs of unnecessary bandwidth, server and storage capacity to handle spam, ISPs need a coordinated strategy, Dean says. He added that he and his competitors have seen the light and will begin to use common weapons to diminish, if not eliminate, spam. Edge GX is the first tool developed under MAAWG's auspices. According to Richard Wong, general manager of Openwave's messaging group, the software has two key features specifically for service providers. The first is called Receipt-To: Harvester. Again, you can question the less-than-snappy name, but not the cool technology. This feature keeps track of messages bounced back to an IP address, the inevitable result of classic dictionary attacks. If those mail-return numbers are beyond what the ISP deems legitimate, it will slow the rest of the outgoing messages from the spammer, "so much that it will take a decade to get through," claims Wong. The second technique looks at outbound mail traffic from a source: If it's outside normal behavior, it slows down message processing. If the queued messages continue to pile up, the oddly named Rate-Limiting Tarpitting feature drops the spammer connection for as little as a millisecond or as long as an hour, adding costs and hassles to spammers. For once. Edge GX hits the streets today.
• Service providers aren't just your spam-fighting buddies. They can also be your source for call center technology. Using a PC and VoIP, call center agents access an ISP-based infrastructure provided by CosmoCom Inc. for inbound or outbound call activities. The Melville, N.Y.-based company delivers everything from predictive dialing to voice-recognition technology.

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