Bonded Sender Program ensures users receive e-mail only from known, legitimate senders.
Microsoft and IronPort announced
initial success with the Bonded Sender Program, IronPort’s legitimate e-mail
sender program that helps reduce the deluge of unwanted e-mail sent to
Microsoft customers.
“Because spam is our e-mail customers’
No. 1 complaint today, our technology arsenal must include a process that works
in tandem with our filters to differentiate good e-mail from junk e-mail,” said
Ryan Hamlin, general manager of the Anti-Spam Technology and Strategy Group at
Microsoft. “Bonded Sender is an example of a program that effectively raises the
bar on conduct for good e-mail senders, while simultaneously helping recipients
such as Microsoft identify important messages that consumers have
requested.”
The Bonded Sender Program, powered by
IronPort and certified by TRUSTe, identifies legitimate senders of e-mail based
on their adherence to program standards and the posting of a financial bond.
Programs such as safe lists reputation, rating and e-mail accreditation have
emerged to help prevent good e-mail from accidentally being blocked by filters.
The system is similar to a credit rating service. The more suspicious a sender
appears to be, the more restricted the access to the receiver’s network. Bonded
Sender allows legitimate e-mail sources to identify themselves so they
don’t get caught in spam filters.
“The Bonded Sender Program allows
legitimate senders of e-mail to identify themselves and avoid delivery
problems,” said Scott Weiss, CEO of IronPort Systems. “We are pleased to have
Hotmail and MSN join our community of over 28,000 organizations that are using
sender identity and reputation as the ultimate weapon in the battle against
spam.”
To qualify for Bonded Sender status,
participants must meet a strict set of best practices for sending commercial
e-mail that exceeds standards set forth in the federal Controlling the Assault
of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM) and must
demonstrate a history of good sending behavior derived from recipient feedback.
Once certified, senders post a financial bond and undergo TRUSTe monitoring of
compliance with program standards and complaint rates. To make certain that only
legitimate e-mail is sent through Bonded Sender, a sender’s bond is debited when
end-user complaints exceed a certain threshold.
“So far we have been successful in
applying rigorous standards and meaningful complaint rates to identify
legitimate senders,” said Fran Maier, executive director of TRUSTe.
Web Design 
