New ChoiceMail Kills Spam Dead, Lets Good E-Mail Through Permission-Based System Blocks All Unsolicited Messages Eric Grevstad
Wed 7/17/02 -- Stopping e-mail spam with content filters and lists of blocked senders is a losing game: As soon as you add "New Herbal Viagra" or MakeMoneyFast.com to your filters, more unwanted, offensive material floods in from "Boost Your Bust Size" or EskimoPorn.com.
DigiPortal Software Inc. has a solution that doesn't require constant updates and won't block legitimate e-mail: ChoiceMail, a $30 program that stops 100 percent of unsolicited mail by letting only messages from approved senders reach your inbox.
When you install ChoiceMail, it lets you create a list of known correspondents by typing addresses or importing them from your existing address book. When a message from anybody else reaches your e-mail program, ChoiceMail intercepts it and sends a message back to the sender explaining that you've set up permission-based e-mail.
The sender must log onto a simple Web page and fill out a brief form (impossible for automated systems) providing identification and a reason for corresponding with you; his or her request to be added to your approved list pops up on your desktop, where you can say yes or no. If the former, the original e-mail appears in your inbox normally; if the latter, or if the sender doesn't submit a request form, the spam is held out of sight for a specified period and then deleted automatically.
ChoiceMail works with POP3 e-mail clients like Outlook Express and Eudora; it's incompatible with MSN, AOL, or other Web-based mail services.
