Stopping spam at the source

New antispam technology standards are on the way that promise to hit spammers where it hurts the most--their wallets.

At issue is the ability to authenticate the original source of e-mail messages, a major hole in the current system that allows spammers to easily forge return addresses and hide their tracks.

This month, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) reviewed several e-mail authentication proposals, agreeing to fast-track a submission from Microsoft known as Sender ID. The group also reviewed submissions for signature-based authentication from companies such as Cisco Systems and Yahoo and recommended the authors combine and resubmit those proposals together.

Technoflak is not enthusiastic about any solution that gives one vendor a monopoly.

Why aren't spammers in jail? Almost all spam is obviously fraud, so why are they prosecuted under existing laws?