July 13, 2005 - (HOSTSEARCH.COM) - Web hosts may want to look into implementing a new Microsoft technology or figure out how to develop an analog for the Linux world as a potentially valuable add-on feature.
Microsoft announced today in a newsletter their new Sender ID email feature which helps to combat spam and phishing attacks. To help distinguish between verifiable and unverifiable senders, Sender ID checks and validates the sender's e-mail address against the actual sending address. Until recently, the current e-mail system did not require any form of authentication. Sender ID helps prevent spammers from "spoofing" or forging legitimate e-mail addresses for identity theft and other types of fraud.
According to the Microsoft newsletter, “Microsoft began implementing Sender ID in MSN Hotmail early in 2005 and it has already seen positive results. Today, approximately 25 percent of incoming e-mails to Hotmail fail the Sender ID check. Momentum for Sender ID adoption is quickly growing. As more Internet and e-mail providers begin to work with this new technology, the ability of Sender ID to intercept spam and phishing attempts should continue to increase.”
In addition, in late June, Redmond launched a new service as a part of Hotmail that will tell users of the service if email should be considered suspicious before it's opened based on it’s Sender ID status.
