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http://www.mailblocks.com/ does this, they set up a bunch of honeypot email addresses that capture spam. They use this data to block certain servers from sending email to any mailblocks customer (both free and paid members).

mailblocks.com already does this, but they hold a patent on it and it was fairly recently purchased by AOL after the founder died. Oh well, bye bye great email! :(

I finally realized that mailblocks was responded to each email with a request to verify you a real person. Many spamers didn't even both to read the email, they just marked the address as valid and sold it to someone else. I "get" a lot of spam on that address but, of course, I don't read it. If this kind of whitelisting catches on (Earthlink is trying it out as well I think), this 1% could easly come true to at least some extent.

Q1. What if Microsoft developed a way to carry out their authentication (using these trusts) either 1. On their own or 2. Without even hearing about InterTrust's patent?

This guy is not claiming copyright infringement. Therefore he doesn't need to see the source code to determine whether or not infringement occurred. He simply needs to see a program which implements (via any source code) a technique that he's patented.

Let's use an example of what I mean. Mailblocks claim that they have a patent on an antispam technique called "Challenge/Response". Then comes along Earthlink who implements a C/R antispam option for their customers. Mailblocks sues Earthlink. Now Mailblocks hasn't seen any of the source code to the software that Earthlink uses. But they know that they have a patent on what earthlink is doing, because they can interract with it and identify whether or not Earthlink's system implements all of the claims of Mailblocks' patent. Then they file suit.

BTW, I don't particularly like the patent claim that Mailblocks is using. I think that there is a *LOT* of prior art that can be demonstrated for this particular patent. However it is useful to illustrate the point: that this guy does not need to see Microsoft's source code to claim patent infringement. He only needs to play with the software and see if it does something that he's patented.

Some time ago a new way for filtering spam has been discovered. Solution is simple, yet brilliant - we already have those "To confirm you're not a script, please type the text shown in this image" at various websites to guard against form-submitting bots. Apply this to email (bounce back all emails with image attached) and all the spam is gone! Not that it is a perfect solution (I wish there was...) as I see 2 minor flaws in this system :
1. It introduces a delay in communication - confirmation letter has to be sent and reply received.
2. Not all recepients at the other end are *that smart* to understand "what the hell this image means and what am I supposed to do with it?"
From the other side it can serve as lameness filter ;)

But still a promising technology. I've searched the web and came with both subscription services Mailblocks and client-side apps Icemile. The last one is free and I think I'll stick with it.

Mailblocks, Inc. is a new class of Web-based email service for consumers founded in July 2002 by Phil Goldman, a former Microsoft vice president and a founder of WebTV.

Mailblocks today announced that it has filed suit against EarthLink Inc. for patent infringement of its Challenge/Response technology, which eliminates email spam from users' inboxes.

According to Mailblocks, EarthLink initiated discussions with Mailblocks in connection with its soon-to-be-launched service a short while ago. Based on information presently available, Mailblocks says it appears that the EarthLink service, as advertised, will infringe patent rights held by Mailblocks.

The suit was filed today in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Mailblocks developed and owns patents for Challenge/Response, and we intend to vigorously enforce our rights to the fullest extent permitted by law, said Phil Goldman, Mailblocks' CEO.

Mailblocks' patented Challenge/Reponses technology eliminates spam generated by computers by assuring that only email sent by humans is placed in a user's email inbox. Email sent from new people who are not in the user's electronic email address book are placed in a Pending folder and automatically sent a request to authenticate (called a Challenge). Machine-generated email will not respond to the Challenge email, so that message is not sent to the user's inbox. New users need to respond only once to a Challenge in order to be recognized in the future. When users wish to receive email that will be computer-generated, such as confirmations of email purchases or newsletter subscriptions, they can use a special email address to automatically allow those emails to be sent directly to their inbox. About Mailblocks

Mailblocks, Inc. is a new class of Web-based email service for consumers founded in July 2002 by Phil Goldman, a former Microsoft vice president and a founder of WebTV. Mailblocks started with a simple idea: improve the consumer email experience - make it better, more manageable and - above all else - free from the aggravation of spam (unsolicited, computer-generated email). Using state-of-the-art technology, an assemblage of talented, passionate and experienced individuals unlike slashdot's crew of moron editors and a customer research driven development model, Mailblocks is working to create the world's greatest Web-based email service. To learn more about Mailblocks visit our Website at www.mailblocks.com or call our offices at 650.947.9361.

I was hoping more ISPs would adopt the challenge-response system, like MailBlocks, previously featured on Slashdot. Way to go Earthlink! If I was interested in dialup, this would be a big selling point for me. I'm still waiting for a service that offers the challenge-response feature of MailBlocks but allows me to forward to my existing provider. I mean, a 12MB inbox is pretty lame. There are free providers that can give me that much space...

...thanks to mailblocks (click here for original article about it). It was a pain at first getting all my contacts and listservs entered into my safelist, but since then I've been 100% spam-free. I just check my pending folder once a week or so for stranded messages. And heck, $10 for a 12MB inbox for three years is a deal compared to the big boys.

Not now, but in the future, Mailblocks may permit third parties, such as advertisers, to furnish our members, through the Services and otherwise, with information from time to time.

POP3 is NOT supported. See their support page for details.

I've been using SneakEmail for years and I get absolutely zero spam. It works, it's free at the basic level, and if you're willing to cough up a little cash (~$25/year) there's some damn decent additional services available. It makes email filtering far, far more convenient, too. Finally, as an added bonus, they (unlike MailBlocks) don't sell your address, personal information, or the likes.

Looks like you can also use IMAP to tap into your mailbox as well:

Wow, definitely read the TOS info...

It reads more like they wish to charge you $10 to become your primary spam provider, oh and they will also be sharing your personal info with 'their' spammers (3rd parties), which you can't opt-out of.

Pay to go from bad to worse ? I think not !

Mailblocks is not free! They charge either $9.95 or $24.95 a year depending on the file size limitation you choose.