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Hotmail Implements Spam Filter System

Posted by Roblimo on from the spam-sucks dept.

emerson writes "News.com is reporting that Hotmail has finally taken the plunge and decided to implement the MAPS RBL spam "blackhole" list. The article notes that they have seen a marked decrease in spam in just a short time. Read the whole article." More and more ISPs seem to be jumping on the MAPS RBL bandwagon. It's a very good thing IMO, especially for the "free" e-mail services that attract spammers the same way picnics attract ants.

3 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. HotMail *IS* a spam filter by VSc · · Score: 4
    Well for 'the best of us' who are lucky enough to have a real account, HotMail seems to always have been a spam trapper - a way to indentify yourself on newsgroups, registering on a free account (NYT comes to mind) or registering on nearly anything else: you would surely get something of the sort:
    • In order to do that / download that / go there please fill in this simple 35 step form, required fields are marked with * (e-mail is marked with an * of course)
    • "Thank you for you registration, here is your password" + spam spam spam (buy that buy this). The last line says "This is not spam because we include unsubscribe information" (Their concious is not clear already I see ;-)
    • "Half an hour ago you displayed an enormous interest in our product so here are some news for you" + spam spam spam
    • You be polite you unsubscribe
    • "We are awfully sorry that you would have to leave us" + spam spam spam (this is already interesting - they spam you while you try to unsubscribe!). In order to unsubscribe, go to URL:blah.blah.com
    • Being the patient soul you are, you go to the URL
    • Unsubscribing, you get the (hopefully final) e-mail stating "You've been unsubscribed, we don't know how we can go on living without you" + spam spam spam.


    So, just trying to make it as painless as possible yields you at least 5 spam emails, all trying to unsubscribe. They sure don't waste their tim with that.


    All spam starts with the line: "THIS IS NOT SPAM"

    --

    God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ --1Thes5:9

  2. The irony is killing my inbox by gad_zuki! · · Score: 4

    Spammers using Hotmail will be happy to have a mailbox that won't fill up with their competitor's spam right before it gets canceled.

    Maybe from now on all spam will be from Hotmail.com to Hotmail.com.

    "Who needs open relays when you can get a free mailbox in 96 seconds?"

  3. Re:spam will always be a problem by freakho · · Score: 4

    4. If you don't need to recieve a reply email (like website passwords or account verification) from a site that expects you to give them your adress, use a fake one. It's easy, and allows you to exercise your creative juices... I always like using root@ :)

    An even better one is putting in the site's own abuse@ address. If they have one, they'll get the joy of spamming themselves; if they don't, it'll bounce. Nobody gets hurt but the jerks. :)

    fh