In Windows & .NET Magazine UPDATE, January 28, 2003 , Paul Thurrott writes about his meeting with the Exchange Product Manager Ed Wu and discusses which I think the number 1 problem on the Internet: SPAM. After this weekend you might think virus is number one, but I think SPAM is the biggest virus around.
"Spam is a hot issue right now," Ed Wu said, "and we know that we have to deliver a solution in [Exchange 2003]. We have to make sure that we do the right thing, that our solution is flexible enough that when things change--and the spam adapts--our solution will have the delta to adjust. It should be flexible and adaptable, as are antivirus filters today. Our general philosophy is that we need to stop spam before it hits users" inboxes." Wu noted my mention last week of Bayesian filters and newer, more adaptable spam filters, and said that although he couldn"t yet reveal how Microsoft plans to address this concern, the solution will be similar to the methods I described and will be a complete solution. He said that Microsoft plans to announce Exchange 2003"s spam-fighting tools soon.