Spam is one of those things that most IT organizations think they have under relative control. Of course, no one really stops to think about why there is so much spam in the first place. Well, it turns out that far too many Internet service providers are relying on anti-spam software that was primarily designed […]
Spam is one of those things that most IT organizations think they have under relative control. Of course, no one really stops to think about why there is so much spam in the first place.
Well, it turns out that far too many Internet service providers are relying on anti-spam software that was primarily designed to fight inbound, rather than outbound, spam. According to a survey of 100 IT professionals working for ISPs that was conducted by Osterman Research on behalf of Commtouch, a provider of anti-spam software to software vendors, 40 percent report that IP addresses managed by them have been blacklisted at some time in the last 12 months. (Read more about this survey from our Mike Vizard over at his blog.)
The use of inbound spam tools to fight outbound spam makes it relatively simple for spammers to tinker with their content until they see what makes it through the spam filters. They can do this because once they take over an account, they can also sign up as a customer to see what makes it through.
With 80 percent of all e-mail on the Internet classified as spam, huge amounts of IT resources are being diverted to stem a tide of spam that by all rights shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Click through for findings from a recent survey by Osterman Research.
Turns out most of the commercial offerings were designed for inbound spam.
It’s also a matter of time before it becomes a legal issue.
ISPs are generating 200 outbound spam messages a year.
Ultimate goal is to shut down the accounts generated the spam.
The go-to resource for IT professionals from all corners of the tech world looking for cutting edge technology solutions that solve their unique business challenges. We aim to help these professionals grow their knowledge base and authority in their field with the top news and trends in the technology space.
Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.
