OzEmail Signs Up to SpamTrap Trial

Leading the way, OzEmail to trial a spam filtering service backed by its creators

Sydney, Thursday 27 March 2003

messagecare, a new Australian company formed by OzEmail founders Sean Howard, Malcolm Turnbull, Trevor Kennedy and Andrew Kent, today announced it was commencing trials of its SpamTrap service with Australia's favourite ISP, OzEmail.

"I'm delighted that OzEmail has chosen to lead the way in providing its customers with a spam solution," said messagecare CEO, Andrew Kent in announcing the first ISP trial of SpamTrap. "Spam has become a growing concern for ISPs and their customers alike. It's encouraging to see OzEmail taking pro-active steps in identifying ways to help their customers manage spam."

"OzEmail has always been on the front foot in providing its customers with a superior Internet experience. Now we are taking positive steps to manage what has become one of the few downsides of Internet use - unsolicited or junk email," said OzEmail Director, Trevor Duff. "Spam is growing and may become a problem for an increasing number of Internet users and ISPs," he said. "Though OzEmail has not been idle on battling spam, we are nevertheless looking forward to the SpamTrap trial and gathering valuable feedback from our trial customers."

Commenting on the pedigree of messagecare management Mr Duff stated, "As Internet pioneers in this country, we believe the team has an expert knowledge of the online medium, its users and in particular email. This is important because there are some very clever people making spam harder to be detected - it's a constant battle and you need good people in your corner."

Recent research from ACNeilson consult indicates that some Internet users are seeking assistance from their ISP in reducing spam. "In the near future, ISPs will seek reliable and effective solutions to offer their customers," said Mr Kent. "SpamTrap should assist in improving customer loyalty via the satisfaction benefits associated with less spam."

SpamTrap is an easy-to-use filtering solution that has been designed to reduce the amount of spam that reaches the inbox of any standard ISP mailbox. SpamTrap requires no software downloads by the end-user, no ongoing configuration and no maintenance of 'exclude' or 'include' address lists by the user.

The SpamTrap trial will be run over four weeks and will be offered to a select group of OzEmail subscribers. Invitations will be issued in the near future. At the conclusion of the trial, messagecare and OzEmail may enter into discussions about a commercial offering.

Latest SpamTrap statistics

The SpamTrap service is currently capturing over 200,000 spam messages each day - with current customers having 30% of their email being trapped as spam.

About messagecare's SpamTrap ISP Edition

messagecare's wholesale business offering, SpamTrap ISP Edition, represents an attractive, easy-to-implement and complete retail spam solution for ISPs. With a short deployment cycle, an ISP can be offering SpamTrap as a opt-in, value-add paid service or a free add-on service to its customers in a matter of weeks.

SpamTrap ISP Edition provides an ISP with a branded Web service, an end-user communication template system, technical support tools including knowledge base articles, training and second level support and comprehensive system and user reporting functionality.

About SpamTrap Technology

The technology and architecture behind SpamTrap has been designed and built to deliver a service that offers users high spam capture rates without catching legitimate email. Key to the service's high capture rate is the ability to quickly identify and accurately match incoming mail messages against the SpamTrap Database of spam.

Using a global network of spam traps and proprietary collection techniques, SpamTrap collects and classifies spam email. A unique 'fingerprint' of each spam email is recorded and added to the SpamTrap Database.

The SpamTrap system then takes a 'fingerprint' of each user's incoming email messages and compares them against the SpamTrap Database. If a match is detected, it is declared spam and put in a message store for viewing and deleting by the customer.

SpamTrap's 'fingerprinting' technique protects the privacy of a user's email because we never look at the email, just its 'fingerprint'. A SpamTrap user is able to view their spam messages online by logging into to www.spamtrap.net.au.

About messagecare

messagecare, a privately owned company, was started in 2003 by the founders of OzEmail, one of Australia's largest ISPs, with a vision of creating a suite of value-adding services designed to enhance the messaging experience of individuals, businesses and service providers.

With seven years of experience running one of the Southern Hemisphere's largest mail servers, messagecare understands the importance of protecting the integrity of email as a communications channel from adversaries like spam, viruses and pornographic material.

About OzEmail

OzEmail, Australia's Favourite Internet Service Provider, has been an industry leader since its beginning ten years ago.

Recently awarded "Best Technical Support" by internet.au, OzEmail provides reliable, secure and private connectivity solutions for one of Australia's largest customer bases. OzEmail continues to innovate and set the benchmark with award-winning products of exceptional quality and value.

Operating on one of the world's largest and most robust networks, OzEmail offers a variety of broadband and dial services, hosting options for business and family, residential e-commerce facilities, security software suites, domain registry and online educational initiatives. >From the OzEmail homepage www.ozemail.com.au, subscribers have an extensive choice of applications and access to dynamic and innovative content. Due to its constant exploration of the Internet's potential, OzEmail has earned a reputation for innovation and creative excellence.

OzEmail Internet provides free technical assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year Australia wide. With a focus on customer service parallel to none, OzEmail is privileged to enjoy one of the most loyal customer bases in the Australian Internet industry.