Microsoft Cuts Down Spam By 90 Percent
The company claims that the spam level in Hotmail is just about 2%. The reduction also affected global spam levels to drop by 15% and Microsoft says that Hotmail outbound spam is down 75%.
A declining spam level isn't a bad thing, but I can't help but remember a famous Bill Gates quote from 2004: "Spam will be solved within 2 years." With a slight delay of 5 years, we are almost there, at least on Hotmail -- and I won't complain, given the huge annoyance that spam once posed. Today, it seems that spam mails are far more manageable and the occasional spam mail we receive can be easily moved into a junk mail folder.
There have been many ideas how spam could be fought, but it appears that a comprehensive approach that targets key problem areas has been effective. Microsoft's Dick Craddock wrote in a blog post: "In the old days (you know, two years ago), the spammers just opened email accounts at one of the major providers to send spam. After all, accounts at Yahoo!, Gmail, AOL, and Hotmail are free and can send email, which is pretty much all you need to start a spam campaign."
Spam has evolved over time and as governments were cracking down on spammers much harder. The profit chain has moved closer to malware and different ways to extract information and dollars from users. Web criminals follow the trail where the money is and that seems to be much more in areas such as social networks or simple drive-by downloads that would install malware on your PC. There is no reason to believe that the cat-and-mouse game will come to an end, even if spam is less annoying than it was 5 years ago.
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Well, there should be a tom campaign to bring down all those advertising spam :]
Whatever ever happened to the $.01 /email idea? Not that it sounds like the best idea in the world but during the big spam days of a few years ago.... it didn't sound so horrible.
Well, there should be a tom campaign to bring down all those advertising spam :]
Especially against these new bots that post something like "Thank you for sharing!!! Very useful!!!" to gain member points.
I'm sure one of the major reasons spam has slowed down is perhaps due to the fact that people are more responsible and report it when they see it, allowing the systems in place to take action faster on what went through undetected in the first place and preventing it from getting further.
The bad part is that the junk still has to appear in some inbox before it is cleansed...
It will continue, one way or another, until all convicted spammers have their heads put in a bucket (to catch the mess) and someone pulls the trigger. The last thing they hear should be a fail horn and a game show host-style voice announcing GAME OVER. If that sounds harsh, then DON'T SPAM. Real easy. It isn't like someone can do it by accident, or in a fit of passion; it is deliberate wrongdoing, for which the world has way too much tolerance.
As long as the 2% of spam left doesn't have the words "Let's Facelift Bar!!!" in them... I really don't think I'll mind.
"Well, there should be a tom campaign to bring down all those advertising spam"
Firefox + Adblock + Noscript = Problem solved.
To BillGs defense I'll ad that the spam problem WAS solved years ago. Nobody likes the solution though ($0.01 per email and/or registered senders)
"Well, there should be a tom campaign to bring down all those advertising spam"Firefox + Adblock + Noscript = Problem solved.
I have those. I'm referring to people who post jordans and other fake crap for sales. They fill the forum but there has been a good drop. I'm not stupid and are much aware of adblocker and noscript, thank you very much.
I'm surprised that the amount of time this article has been posted, not a single ad spam...yet.
hey I didn't see it before you said that. Indeed it is awesome to be able to read without scrolling down. ^^
Your grammar is bad, therefore, I figured you weren't the sharpest tool in the shed. However, if ESL, my apologies.
I can confirm that Hotmail is good at blocking spam. Never get any in my Inbox, goes straight to junk and is deleted after a few days. However, I still look to see what it is. Usually from a company I bought something from online that I don't wish to hear from.
Spam is Spam, most thing about Spam is knowing why you have it in the first place.
This solves probably at least 50% or more of Spam. I would say anyways. Otherwise you are basically just blocking about everything. Or most things. And calling day "solved" . Idk.
Maybe ot that bad sometimes, makes you wonder though maybe sometimes, maybe not.
Does this mean I won't get my hotmail password stolen anymore so my contacts won't supposedly get spammed by me?
It's Microsoft's crappy Operating Systems which allowed Spam to be so endemic throughout the internet. How many hijacked Windows PC's are used to deliver this plague?
Now if Microsoft could only solve the spam problem on Tom's sites...
I've had a gmail account for 7 years now and I've probably had less than 20 spam emails in that time.
you can't add the 15% global spam reduction to the 75% hotmail outbound spam reduction to arrive at 90% spam reduction in the header. they refer to different things. i have a hotmail account for years and i've noticed significant spam reductions over the years. appreciate all the efforts microsoft put into reducing spams.
Email should alwas be free, but to fight spam - a $0.001 fee pr/email is enough to do away with the big-time spammers, because they are spamming in millions... email would still be virtually free for the masses.
People still use hotmail? lol
^^ Lolz, tomshardware is still 0% spam free.
Wow, if it weren't for Microsoft, there would be 18 more etailer spam messages in this comment thread. Good job, MS!
Toms Spam Attack!
Run for a better site that doesn't torture it's visitors!
Now only if Tom's would do its part in fighting spam that's just above my comment...
what is so tough is just scrolling down a little? I just ignore these spams quickly and scroll down.
About Microsoft and Spam, its a pain to make company newsletters dont end up in Junk after going through Microsoft's Smart Filter ( not so smart! ). No wonder they are able to reduce spam. But Nigerian and Kenyan bankers always find a way around... they send images of the text they want us to read, attached to the email these days, therefore dodging the spam filters. i've seen a few now in my mailbox. Not that its bad.. its actually hilarious.
People still use hotmail? lol
Well they say Hotmail but Live mail is basically the same thing, except better, and they don't scan your emails for keywords so they can sell you penis pills, like Gmail.
Well they say Hotmail but Live mail is basically the same thing, except better, and they don't scan your emails for keywords so they can sell you penis pills, like Gmail.
Hotmail/Live spam filtering just plan sucks - always has. If gmail is scanning your emails for keywords so to sell you penis pills...what kind of shady shit you have/do with your gmail account? Very interesting argument you have there.
/banhammer finger twitches in anticipation of next wave of spammers ...
" ... and I am all out of gum !!! "
;P
Let's Facelift bar!
Jusk kidding
damn and here my first thought was they shut down hotmail. that would be a much better solution to just shotdown free email