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Repurposing Anti-Spam Tools For Detecting Mutations In HIV

Posted by timothy on from the metaphors-are-like-geese-in-a-cider-factor dept.

chicksdaddy writes "Security researchers often use language and metaphors from the natural world to describe problems in the virtual world. (Consider 'virus,' and 'worm.') Now it turns out that the links may be more than just rhetoric. Microsoft Researchers say that tools they developed to detect spammers' efforts to avoid anti-spam filters were also great at spotting mutations in the HIV virus. A report from Microsoft Research in honor of World AIDS Day yesterday described how Microsoft Researchers David Heckerman and Jonathan Carlson were called upon to help AIDS researchers analyze data about how the human immune system attacks the HIV virus. To do so, they turned to tools and algorithms developed at Microsoft to detect and block spam e-mail in the company's Hotmail, Outlook and Exchange e-mail products."

20 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. Never mind that! by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Funny

    The really big news here is - Slashdot has finally ditched the Gates "Borg" icon!

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    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Never mind that! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Really for a joke that was 'kinda' funny back in 1992.... It needed to go a long time ago...

  2. Maybe the "natural world" by Spy+Handler · · Score: 4, Insightful

    is also a created simulation. If so, then of course viruses in both computers and nature will share common characteristics.

    BUDDHA: All is illusion
    NEO: There is no spoon

    1. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by cultiv8 · · Score: 3, Funny

      MICROSOFT: We have an API for that

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      sysadmins and parents of newborns get the same amount of sleep.
    2. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Interesting
      If not a simulation, would you believe a hologram:
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      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    3. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by masternerdguy · · Score: 2

      I would believe a holographic doctor.

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      To offset political mods, replace Flamebait with Insightful.
    4. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by symbolset · · Score: 2

      ... But it's undocumented.

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      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    5. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      It was undocumented 20 years ago.

      Nowadays it's documented but deprecated, and has been that was for the last 15 years. But everyone's still using it, anyway.

      That said, we're rolling out a new framework that'll have a brand new API to do the same exact thing. But don't worry, the old one is still supported. So are the three preceding new ones. ~

    6. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      When I say "we", I actually mean it. See the profile.

      And trust me on this: if any developer in Office (or other product division) tries to use an undocumented Windows API, they'll have someone from legal knocking on their door real soon. It's a very, very big no-no in the company. I know, because it's actually part of things like code reviews and such. Simply put, no-one wants to be the guy responsible for another multibillion dollar fine in EU or other places which actually take such things seriously. For the same reason, a lot of previously undocumented protocols are now documented here and/or here.

      So, no, you don't have to worry about MS apps unfairly competing with third-party ones by using some undocumented magical "make it better" APIs these days.

    7. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      You'd be surprised how getting sued and losing can turn things around. One of the reasons why I've grown to believe that regulation of businesses is beneficial is because I witnessed the effects of it first-hand, and they are much bigger than many people on /. imagine. It just takes time for the changes to have an effect outside, especially when you start with a monopoly as entrenched as that.

      You are, of course, free to disbelieve anything I tell you. But keep in mind that I post here as a fellow geek, not as an employee (I've had a /. account for years before going to work at MS); and, no, you don't get wired up to the Borg when you sign up.

    8. Re:Maybe the "natural world" by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      I'm sorry that the facts that I have to share are not to your liking. I don't have any other, on this subject - I can only state that which I've seen. If you feel that they threaten your deeply held beliefs, feel free to ignore them, and lets get back to meaningful discussions on less flamebaity topics.

  3. Insightful by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Come on gang, this is pretty cool.

    To re-adapt the tech that picks up Nigerian Scams and send it to pick up HIV strains is pretty neat. I sure as **** didn't see that app.

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
    1. Re:Insightful by masternerdguy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Personally I find some of those nigerian spams awesome. I got one that claimed that the first Kenyan on the moon was trapped in orbit and they needed money to build a rescue vehicle.

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      To offset political mods, replace Flamebait with Insightful.
    2. Re:Insightful by JSG · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, I've seen some classics too.

      For a while I actually deliberately allowed stuff from the "Lads from Nigeria" through and put in its own inbox for everyone at the firm to laugh over. I created a second specially trained SA Bayesian classifier in front of the main filter to siphon this stuff off.

      It was trained on a hand crafted corpus gleaned from a mailbox of stuff behind a sacrificial Exim daemon on its own connection that strangely runs really slow but not too slow to put off the spammers.

      SA can be made to work in very strange ways. Perhaps I ought to get out more ...

      Cheers
      Jon

  4. I Read the Full Article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It would have been nice if some sort of example of how these things (spam and virual mutations) are alike was actually presented. The full article is no more useful than the abstract posted here.

  5. Holy mixed metaphors Batman! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2

    Spam filters, viruses. Yeah, I can see the connection there. Now, if they were doing quality control on canned meat products....

    Assuming Microsoft uses some form of naive Bayesian classifier to do spam filtering like everyone else does, their spam filtering technology was in use by a lot of other people for a lot of other things before it came to be a spam filter anyway.

  6. Re:But Microsoft doesn't detect spam?! by armanox · · Score: 2

    I'd say your university didn't setup Exchange correctly then.

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    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  7. Making a spam filter play chess. by Colin+Smith · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://dbacl.sourceforge.net/spam_chess.html

    Now that's cool.

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    Deleted
  8. Look the other way by ripdajacker · · Score: 2

    Maybe they should look at viruses and the immune system when designing spam filters.

  9. Re:But Microsoft doesn't detect spam?! by JSG · · Score: 2

    Have you ever tried it (I can't speak for 2010)? The Intelligent Message Filter is dreadful.

    You pretty much only get two knobs to turn: 0-10 for either block or quarantine. On the switches front you get to use someone else's service ie DNSBLs or you can (naively) fill in blocked address lists.

    That's why have been doing a roaring trade (10 odd years) in tiny Gentoo (VMs nowadays) machines with Exim 'n' Spam Assassin + Clam AV doing the stuff that Exchange just can't.

    So yes his Uni probably did cock up the config of Exch but if they turn the knobs up too far he wont see any mail out side of his Junk folder. Catch 22 matey

    Cheers
    Jon