November 10, 1998 Web posted at: 5:00 PM EDT by Paul Hoffman

From...

(IDG) -- For the past 20 years, I've been involved with the Internet. As director of the Internet Mail Consortium, I've seen firsthand the problems that arise from spam.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
Network World Fusion home page
Free registration required to access Network World
Free Network World Fusion newsletters
Get Media Grok and The Industry Standard Intelligencer delivered for free
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
		IDG.net's bridges & routers page
		IDG.net's hubs & switches page

Spam affects different companies to different degrees, but it costs every recipient money. A few companies have been devastated by the tactics of typical spammers, but most have found it to be mostly be an annoyance.

Nevertheless, most Internet users want to see spam stopped, but don't know how to do it.

The two major options for controlling spam are laws and technology. A few states have passed anti-spam laws, but they are mostly untested. Some state laws appear to prevent any spam being sent to servers that have anti-spam policies, while others only restrict unauthorized relaying.

There are many technical solutions available, but they all have drawbacks. You can block spam based on source, destination or content. But is that enough? Join me online for this discussion at the Network World Fusion spotlight on dealing with spam.

Paul Hoffman is director of the Internet Mail Consortium.