Computer maker Hewlett-Packard has joined the fight against unsolicited
e-mails, announcing plans to pre-load anti-spam software from Mass.-based interMute, Inc. on
the newest lines of HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario desktops.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard said interMute’s SpamSubtract software would be added to the new desktop
PCs to offer consumers a tool to block obscene images and mask offensive text often embedded in
unsolicited e-mail.
The SpamSubtract software, launched by interMute earlier this year, takes a two-pronged
approach to combating spam. There is a free version (which is what HP is shipping) that
camouflages offensive words and blocks the preview of image attachments, which sometimes
contain explicit or offensive pictures.
A premium version — SpamSubtract PRO — takes the anti-spam fight a step further, allowing
users to set up filters to block unwanted mails, which still receiving missives from ‘Friends’
which can be preset on the software. The paid version costs $29.95.
“An additional benefit of SpamSubtract’s isolation approach improves PC security, as spam
with harmful attachments is quarantined outside of your Inbox,” interMute noted.
For HP, the addition of anti-spam software adds another carrot to lure PC buyers in a market
that has stagnated in recent times. “By bundling SpamSubtract on our popular consumer desktop
PCs, HP is helping parents protect their children from inappropriate material found in email
and providing mill ions of consumers with a highly effective spam-blocking tool that allows
users to decide what email is not permitted to enter their Inbox,” HP product manager Carol
Ozaki said.
Computer manufacturers have shied away from investing in anti-spam software bundled in new
PCs, mostly because ISPs and third-party security firms already command a decent chunk of that
market.
The HP anti-spam move comes on the heels of industry-wide crusade to stamp out the scourge
of e-mail-borne advertising scams. Tech giants Microsoft , AOL Time Warner
and Yahoo
recently announced a three-way partnership to
kick-start an “open dialogue that will include organizations across this industry to drive
technical standards and industry guidelines that can be adopted regardless of platform.”
The three firms plan to
focus on protecting consumers from receiving spam by stopping companies which “use
deceptive techniques in e-mail headers specifying the e-mail sender, by leveraging existing
directories of Internet addresses such as the Domain Name System to better identify the
location from which e-mail is originating.”
