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Impact of Spam Blockers on Email Communication and Security

Here's an unhappy prediction: The explosion of spam-blocking technology could herald the death of much legitimate e-mail. I wrote about patents relating to this technology, known as challenge-response technology, last week. Basically, when your mailbox is protected by a challenge-response . . . . Here's an unhappy prediction: The explosion of spam-blocking technology could herald the death of much legitimate e-mail. I wrote about patents relating to this technology, known as challenge-response technology, last week. Basically, when your mailbox is protected by a challenge-response system, people who try to contact you will be greeted with a response saying something like "click on this link to deliver this message" or "type in the word you see in the box above." The idea is to block increasingly obnoxious spam bots but still let actual humans get in touch with you. In theory, well-designed challenge-response utilities won't challenge mail from known correspondents or mail that you've actually asked to receive. Unfortunately, many current challenge-response systems are poorly designed, which could wreak havoc on mailing lists and other legitimate communications. This could make e-mail far less useful than it is today. . The growing adoption of phishing shields could pose risks to authentic message delivery. Explore the consequences of verification protocols.. Spam Control, Email Technology, Challenge-Response, Email Security, Communication Issues. . LinuxSecurity.com Team

May 27, 2003 • LinuxSecurity.com Team Privacy