New email snoop unleashed - News

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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New email snoop unleashed

By Adrian Kerr, ZDNet Australia
April 11, 2001
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/soa/New-email-snoop-unleashed/0,139023165,120214664,00.htm

Watch out. SuperScout is on the loose.

Billed as a "stronger out of the box experience", the software claims to be more intelligent than existing filters by relying on an extensive database of 'allowable' and 'prohibited' content to help weed out so-called nuisance emails.

These include chain letters, get rich schemes, jokes, hoaxes as well as graphic and sound files.

"The system differs from other products because it doesn't rely on keywords but groups of words and phrases to filter emails," said SurfControl Australia Managing Director, Charles Heunemann.

"The database contains a couple of hundred thousand items, including pre-categorised attachments. Customers can tick which categories they're prepared to allow and those they're not," he said.

The company also reviews emails sent by clients for inclusion in the database.

The current categories are:
Graphics - Adult, Offensive, Humor, Music, Other
Movies - Adult, Offensive, Humor, Music, Other
Sound - Adult, Offensive, Humor, Music, Other
Text - Adult, Offensive, Humor/Hoax, Chain, Internet Greeting Cards, News Letter, Special events, other; Games, Novelty Special Events, Illegal Material

The software's Risk Filter feature emanated from the former development team at Sydney-based EmU Tech, which was acquired by UK-based SurfControl plc for $US7.5 million last year.

Heunemann concedes that jokes are an important part of workplace culture but says companies have a responsibility to protect their employees from offensive material.

"An additional point is that the software has not been developed to snoop on employees. It is designed to protect both the business and employees from offensive and objectionable material sent via email and protect against email borne viruses,"

"With regard to the privacy debate, at SurfControl we advocate the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's policy guidelines on monitoring employee Web and email usage," he said.

The lucrative email filtering market is expected to reach $US4 billion over the next four years.