|
Author: Paul Judge Article source: http://www.ciphertrust.com/. Used with author's permission.
Email is the quintessential business communication tool, so when it doesn't work like it's supposed to, business suffers. Anti spam software is designed to protect your inbox from unwanted messages, but unless your system is properly trained even the best software misses the mark and flags legitimate messages as spam. These messages are referred to as "false positives."
While consumer and ISP anti spam products focus on blocking messages and even consider some false positives acceptable, businesses require anti spam solutions that treat their messages as very valuable. Failing to receive critical messages in a timely fashion can do irreparable damage to customer and partner relationships and cause important orders to be missed, so eliminating false positives while maintaining high anti spam accuracy is paramount to any enterprise anti spam solution.
What causes false positives?
Different anti spam solutions utilize different methods of detecting and blocking spam. Anti spam software typically uses content filtering or Bayesian Logic, an advanced content filtering method, to score each email, looking for certain tell-tale signs of spammer habits such as frequently used terms like "Viagra" or "click here." Other anti spam solutions reference blacklists and whitelists to determine whether the sender has shown spammer tendencies in the past. A false positive can occur when a legitimate sender raises enough red flags, either by using too many "spam terms" or sending from an IP address that has been used by spammers in the past.
Minimizing False Positives
Although it takes a person only a moment to process a message and identify it as spam, it is difficult to automate that human process because no single message characteristic consistently identifies spam. In fact, there are hundreds of different message characteristics that may indicate an email is spam, and an effective anti spam solution must be capable of employing multiple spam detection techniques to effectively cover all bases.
A comprehensive anti spam approach involves examining both message content and sender history in tandem. By using a reputation system to evaluate senders based on their past behavior, a more accurate picture of their intentions and legitimacy can be discerned, and a solution's false positive rate can be further lowered. Has the sender engaged in spamming, virus distribution or phishing attacks in the past? If not, the likelihood of their message getting past the email gateway just went up, and the chances of a false positive declined accordingly. If they have, an effective reputation system knows and flags the message.
Self-Optimization
In order to be most effective, anti spam solutions must learn based on a recipient's preferences. While most of us prefer not to receive emails containing the term Viagra, some medical organizations might need to receive these emails in order to process patient data. In order to best learn your organizational preferences, anti spam solutions should put filtered emails into a quarantine that allows users to review and make decisions as to whether a particular message is spam. Making this quarantine available to the end-user lowers the administration costs and increases the accuracy of the anti spam system.
Each time a user makes a decision about whether a particular email is or is not spam, the system becomes more personalized and intelligent about filtering email for that individual in the future. Over time, users find that they rarely need to review their quarantines anymore because the system has learned how to identify messages that are important to that user.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater
In conclusion, it is imperative that false positives be kept to an absolute minimum for business users. Although consumers may have more patience with incorrectly blocked email, businesses cannot afford these types of problems. An effective, accurate anti spam solution aggregates multiple spam detection technologies, combining the benefits of each individual technique to stop spam while minimizing false positives. It also puts suspected spam into a quarantine that is available to end-users, and learns how to better identify spam in the future. Dr. Paul Judge is a noted scholar and entrepreneur. He is Chief Technology Officer at CipherTrust, the industry's largest provider of enterprise email security. The company's flagship product, IronMail provides a best of breed enterprise anti spam solution designed to stop spam, phishing attacks and other email-based threats. Learn more by visiting http://www.ciphertrust.com/products/spam_and_fraud_protection/ today.
European Car Rental - Top Ten Tips For Europe Travel - Tip #1: Car Size and Type
Part one of a ten part in-depth assessment of the differences between American and European car rental, with pointers to make it easier and cheaper to maximize ...
New Bankruptcy Legislation May Make it Harder to Find an Attorney
Changes in bankruptcy law will make it harder to file for bankruptcy. They may also make it harder to find legal help.
Are You Too Old For Golf Fitness Workouts
Many a senior golfer would not resist the temptation to skip golf fitness workouts, using their age as an excuse. And at first glance age would seem to be a gen...
Ten Tips to Play Together, and Stay Together: Lessons from the Teepee Turn-around
Sure, you "like" to do fun things together. But do you "make the time" to do them?
Gambling in Las Vegas
The two letter noun that completely defines gambling is LAS VEGAS. It has become the dream destination of all gamblers and holiday seekers. The one place you ca...
Experiences of Management Coaching (Part 2)
In our experience, we have found that there are several reasons managers fail to get employees to see and acknowledge that they have a problem.
How to Pray on Water! Announcing Life-Changing Bible Code - Discover Amazing Water Scriptures!
Gain Incredible Insight into the Power of Prayer & Water.
Commonly SEO terms and Jargon used by Search Engine Gurus
Have you ever been left scratching your head, wondering
what the Search Engine Optimizers SEO's or Gurus
are talking about.
Wheres Me Pot of Gold and Lucky Charms?
Find out a way to finding the treasure you've been searching for without digging for it nor even looking for it. Sounds contridicting? Then you better find out ...
Vanity Killed My Car
When I was a freshman in college, my first car was a 1973 Dodge Swinger. Stop laughing! When I first bought the car it was quite sad looking. But hey, it was...
Is Your House Killing Your Dog?
People have things in their homes that can kill their dogs. Do you know what they are?
Break Your Weight Loss Plateau
If you are still doing everything the same and you can't seem to drop those last 10 lbs then you can't drop those last 10 lbs because you are still doing everyt...
Potty Training Battle of the Wills
Some children practically potty train themselves, while others struggle and resist against the potty. Potty training should never turn into the battle of the wi...
The Benefits of Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks
Stainless steel has emerged as the most popular choice of materials for new sink installations because of its low cost, light weight, and almost unbreakable con...
7 ways To Win The Time Crunch
Are you working a "day job" while building your home-based "dream business"? Do you find it difficult to manage your time? Follow these seven tips to get more d...
Increase Sales By Flying Under Your Prospects Radar Defenses
How do you persuade someone to do what you want them to do? A whole world of marketing exists around us trying to do that every minute of the day. Do you even ...
Teaching Reading: Part 3, Whole Language Vs. Phonics
Whole Language Vs. Phonics... The advantages and disadvantages of both of these methods have been debated for decades. School systems have switched from one met...
True Culprits of High Cholesterol
Two of the most common causes of high cholesterol - tap water and homogenized milk -- are not what most people would expect. Learn what exacerbates high choles...
Career Change Advice
Are you struggling in your current job? Have you looked for career change advice in all the traditional places - career counselors, business magazines, trade jo...
The Top Ten Benefits of Having a Web Site
Do you need a web site? Are you considering getting one but are unsure? Here we take a look at the main reasons why a web site could be beneficial to your organ...
Oregon Coast Inn Offers Quirky Amenities
In mysterious Manzanita, on Oregon's north coast, a unique, fun, funky and quirky little motel called San Dune Inn offers something a little different.
How to Increase Your Bench Press by Doing Squats
My Legs Are Already Big Enough. I Keep Hearing Working Legs Is A MUST. Why Is That So Important? How can doing squats increase my bench press?
Secure Your Privacy From Spyware And Other Adware Programs
Be cautious when surfing the net and downloading free/shareware. Not only can it seriously infect your computer, it can also cause identity theft.
The Long Term Benefits From Pay Per Click Advertising
The long term benefits from pay per click advertising. Businesses are starting to look closely at the long-term benefits from pay per click advertising. Pay per...
|
Print this page