Spam Filtering Breaking Down? Doesn't Seem Like It

Email

from the nice-try dept

Like most folks who have been online for many years, I get my fair share of spam. However, with a combination of filters, it’s totally manageable. So, it seemed a bit surprising to see a claim in Computerworld that spam filters were nearing “a breakdown.” Of course, then you read the fine print and realize that this is a press release dressed up to look like an article and the “expert” is simply someone trying to sell his own challenge-response system, which has its own problems (basically, challenge response works by marking nearly everything as spam — thus creating a huge number of false positives, and annoying everyone who tries to email you). Even worse, the guy doesn’t actually present any real evidence that filters are breaking at all. He just says they are, and claims that if you get 30 spam messages, then your spam filters aren’t effective. Ok. Well, then my spam filters are very effective. While they catch about 1,000 spam messages, I only get one or two a day in my inbox. Seems like a long way from breaking. Maybe this guy just needs a more effective spam filter.