Question
December 16, 2004 06:01 AM US Eastern Timezone
Cloudmark Helps PayPal Deliver ''No-Phishing'' Solution to Its Customers; Company Offers New SafetyBar in the Fight Against Fraud to Help Protect Users Before It Reaches Their Inbox
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2004--Cloudmark(TM) Inc., the company that delivers the immune system for email, today announced that the anti-fraud component of its new SafetyBar(TM) solution will be offered to PayPal users free of charge. The SafetyBar solution is designed to empower businesses and consumers to stop online fraud. PayPal customers interested in taking advantage of the free offer can download the solution at http://www.cloudmark.com/paypal/safetybar.
SafetyBar is available to any PayPal customer worldwide that uses the Outlook email system. The tool is easy to install, with the new SafetyBar appearing as a toolbar in Outlook immediately after downloading the product. From installation forward, messages that are identified as phishing emails are automatically forwarded to the Spam Folder. Along with SafetyBar, PayPal users also get a free 30-day trial of Cloudmark's anti-spam protection, the most award-winning anti-spam solution this year.
"Online security is a top priority for PayPal and we continue to fight phishing attacks in every way we can," said Dave Nielsen, technical evangelist for PayPal. "We're happy to work with Cloudmark to develop tools and techniques that enhance our fraud protection initiatives."
"Cloudmark is extremely proud to be working with PayPal to promote trust in the Internet as a safe place to conduct business," said Karl Jacob, CEO of Cloudmark. "Cloudmark's mission has always been to protect consumers from fraud before it occurs versus raising fear or sounding warning alarms when it's just too late. By offering both SafetyBar and our first of its kind rating system, we are confident we can re-establish trust within the world of e-commerce."
While SafetyBar helps eliminate fraud before it reaches the Inbox, Cloudmark Rating solves the other problem created by "phishing" -- namely the erosion of consumer trust in e-commerce brands. Cloudmark Rating helps ensure that the email customers receive is from the trusted brand that sent it. The reputation system helps confirm that mail sent from a company is legitimate. Cloudmark Rating displays the company's logo in the SafetyBar, to help consumers be confident in knowing that the messages received is from the brand they trust.
"Phishing attacks are on the rise, and so is the need for e-commerce companies, financial institutions and providers to take measures to protect their customers," said Teney Takahashi, Messaging Security Analyst with the Radicati Group. "By working with SafetyBar and the Cloudmark community, companies are able to provide their users with a more reliable method of identifying legitimate emails. Dealing with both sides of the equation has become critical, as phishing and online fraud continue to threaten the integrity of email, e-commerce and the Internet."
"Phishing" is a technique whereby a perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking emails appearing to come from well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies in an effort to obtain personal and financial information from the recipient. The result of these scams is that consumers suffer credit card fraud, identity theft and financial loss.
According to an April 2004 survey of 5,000 U.S. online adults, Gartner estimates that 57 million U.S. adults have received phishing attack email and more than 1.4 million users have suffered from identity theft fraud, costing banks and card issuers $1.2 billion in direct losses in the past year. Moreover, the FTC estimates that if one figures in the amount of money businesses must spend on security software to stop the phishers, the damage to brand names, and the costs of mitigating customer complaints and litigation associated with insecure websites, the total increases to over $50 billion.
The SafetyBar Solution
Cloudmark SafetyBar, formerly SpamNet, stands alone as the world's most award-winning anti-spam desktop solution, by scoring the highest accuracy rate in PC Magazine's last four reviews, while registering consecutive zero false positives in the magazine's last two reviews. SafetyBar remains undefeated as the best spam protection this year having consistently garnered top accuracy to win PC World's Best Buy, PC World 2004 World Class Award for Best Spam Filter, PC Magazine's Editor's Choice and PC Magazine's 5 Stars for accuracy, among other industry awards.
Cloudmark SafetyBar automatically prevents over 98 percent of unwanted spam and fraudulent email from reaching a user's Inbox. The service now offers improved fraud protection and a Block Fraud button enabling people to fight back against malicious phishing attacks and stop fraud in the same way they have been working together for over six years to stop unwanted email. If a rare spam or fraud message does slip through to a user's Inbox, a user simply clicks the "Block" button to remove the message from the Inbox, and immediately stops the threat for the entire community. Similarly, if a user thinks a certain message is not spam, or fraud, they can click the "Unblock" button and share that intelligence with the network.
To establish trust and reputation for each user in the network, SafetyBar uses its Trust Evaluation System (TeS). An individual user's trust rating is sent alongside every message submitted by Cloudmark community members, eliminating flawed submissions and gaming of the system. Because a group of trusted users has to vote a message as spam or fraud for it to end up in the Unwanted Folder, SafetyBar is able to achieve its benchmark, zero false positive rate. This real-time automated approach is also the reason that SafetyBar instantly protects its community from Internet-based viruses and email born threats.
Cloudmark SafetyBar is available today for both Outlook(R) and Outlook Express(R), and will also be available in additional product platform versions later this year.
About Cloudmark Rating
Cloudmark Rating automatically verifies legitimate communications such as newsletters and mailing lists to ensure delivery, protecting your organization against fraudulent uses of your brand and protecting your customers from fraud. Each mailing is given a unique identity and the solution requires minimal implementation.
Any site can request free membership in the Program 1 level of this system by signing up at http://rating.cloudmark.com. Member sites send a copy of each newsletter and mass mailing to a special address at Cloudmark. When a new mailing arrives, Cloudmark associates its unique fingerprint with the corresponding member site. The site's reputation improves when Cloudmark members refrain from marking its mailings as spam.
A site that maintains a sufficiently high reputation can move up to the Program 2 level. When the user views an email message from a Program 2 site, the SafetyBar displays a "Cloudmark Rated" button and company logo. Clicking on the button brings up a window proclaiming that the site is a "Cloudmark Rated Spam-free email sender" and offering more details about the rating system.
About Cloudmark, Inc.
Founded in 2001, Cloudmark(TM) is the company that delivers the immune system for email. The company offers tailored anti-spam and anti-fraud solutions for the individual user, small and medium businesses (SMBs), large enterprises and service providers to bring immediate relief to thousands of businesses and more than a million individuals in 72 countries using its solutions today.
Cloudmark invented the highly effective spamDNA technology, the recent innovation of Email Genetic Mapping(TM) coupled with Cloudmark's revolutionary nDimensional technology and the first peer-to-peer, real-time, SpamFighting community in 1998.
CTO Jordan Ritter, also co-founder of Napster, and Vipul Ved Prakash, chief scientist and author of Vipul's Razor, founded Cloudmark. Prominent venture capital firms Ignition Partners, Presidio Venture Partners, a Sumitomo Corporation company, and FTVentures back the company.
-- For more information about Cloudmark, visit the company's web site at: http://www.cloudmark.com/.
Cloudmark, the Cloudmark logo, SpamNet, SafetyBar, Email Genetic Map (EGM), Trust Evaluation System (TeS) and Email Genetic Mapping are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudmark Inc., for use in the United States and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Contacts
Blanc & Otus Public Relations
Suzi Lambourne, 415-856-5125
slambourne*blancandotus.com
Answer
I don't know anything about it, but here is a review from PC Magazine: Cloudmark SafetyBar 4.0
I don't get how they can take a program they were selling for $39.95 and give it away to PayPal users without getting something in return - is there tracking software or some sort of data miner in this thing? Or do they just have more money than they know what to do with and they're feeling generous?
Answer
Here is what the announcement on the PayPal site says:
Protect Your Inbox with the SafetyBar
Help keep fake (spoof) email out of your inbox with the SafetyBar - a powerful, free tool from email security provider Cloudmark.
Make Your Email Safer.
The SafetyBar helps protect against fraud and identity theft by working to ensure only valid emails get to your inbox, so you can avoid criminal websites.
Plus, Get a Free 30-Day Trial of SpamNet.
Along with the SafetyBar, you also get a trial of Cloudmark’s SpamNet, an intuitive tool that helps block unwanted emails.
SafetyBar Is Easy to Use.
Install the SafetyBar in two steps using the simple wizard.
A new SafteyBar toolbar appears in your Outlook inbox.
Just click to block spoof. For more details, see How It Works in the upper left-hand corner of this page.
Help protect your business. Install SafetyBar today.
Four Tips on How to Stay Secure.
In addition to using SafetyBar, you can help ensure your business stays safe using these guidelines.
Log in safely.
To log in to your PayPal account or access the website, always open a new web browser and type https://www.paypal.com in the address box.
Be aware of email greetings.
Emails from PayPal will always address you by your first and last name or the business name associated with your account. Fraudulent emails often begin with a generic salutation, such as, “Dear PayPal User.”
Don’t download attachments.
PayPal emails will never ask you to download attachments or software. Attachments often contain viruses that harm your computer or may compromise your account.
Never reply to an email with personal information.
If we require information from you, we will always request that you securely log in to your PayPal account first.
For more details, visit the PayPal Security Center.
If you think that you have received fake (spoof) email, please forward it to spoof*paypal.com and then delete it from your inbox.
Your input is valuable to us. If you’d like to give us feedback on the SafetyBar, please write: safetybar*paypal.com.
Answer
Originally Posted by PayPal
In addition to using SafetyBar, you can help ensure your business stays safe using these guidelines.
Log in safely...
Be aware of email greetings...
Don’t download attachments...
Never reply to an email with personal information...
It really should say "Instead of using SafetyBar..."
So all those phishing emails get dumped into the Spam file. Great, that means you won't be forwarding them to spoofatpaypal any more, and they won't have to try to shut these guys down, not that their efforts to date have proven too effective.
Fuhgetaboudit. Only those four "Guidelines" are worth the space they take up on the page.
Answer
Exactly how many different bars are we supposed to download and fill our computers with crapola? An eBay tool-bar, now a PayPal bar? Does anyone know how much memory these bars take up on your computer and how much spyware is involved? I'm taking a pass, I enjoy forwarding on my spoofs.