A new system for email verification has come to my attention, and I
thought maybe some of the email experts here would care to examine it
and make comments. The URL is http://www.iconix.com for details and
to download what is needed to make it work on your computer, but I
have included a few of the FAQ items here for review as well:
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Who is ICONIX, Inc.?
What is Iconix eMail ID?
What kind of icons will I see in my inbox?
Do I have to pay to use Iconix eMail ID?
What is phishing?
What companies (senders) are currently identified by the Iconix solution?
Will this change my current email solution or provider?
Will you see my email?
How can my business become a registered sender?
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
How does the Iconix solution work?
Can Iconix eMail ID be spoofed?
Tell me more about Sender ID.
Tell me more about Domain Keys.
What's the difference between this solution and a spam filter?
How is this better than other email authentication solutions?
Are messages without a Truemark icon suspicious?
What if I don't see any Truemark icons in my inbox?
What does it mean if I don't see a Truemark icon next to a message from
a company that's on your list of identified senders?
I have a question that isn't answered here, where do I go now?
DOWNLOAD & SETUP QUESTIONS
What are the system requirements for using Iconix eMail ID?
Do I need to configure any settings?
Does it work with my email program?
How do I upgrade from an older version of Iconix eMail ID?
How easy is Iconix eMail ID to install?
How long will the download take?
How do I uninstall Iconix eMail ID?
I have a question that isn't answered here, where do I go now?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
- Who is ICONIX, Inc.?
ICONIX, Inc. provides email identity services that proactively combat
email fraud spawned by phishing. The IconixSM solution that we offer
uses icons to enable users to quickly and visually distinguish emails
sent by identified senders.
- What is Iconix eMail ID?
Iconix eMail ID is software that works in conjunction with your email
program and confirms the source of an email message. Once confirmed, we
make the message easy to identify by placing an icon next to it. If you
ever wonder who is really sending you an email message; Iconix eMail ID
helps solve that problem!
- What kind of icons will I see in my inbox?
After Iconix eMail ID confirms the source of an email message, you will
see a Truemark icon to represent that the message is real:
A check lockTM icon represents identified senders.
Before displaying the icon, we perform an identification function in
the background. Identified senders consist of more than 300 companies
we have recognized as senders using publicly available information
about the sender's domain and business (see the list). These senders
represent many of the top online sites for retail, travel, auctions,
banking, dating, etc.; and other companies that have enrolled with us.
- Do I have to pay to use Iconix eMail ID?
No. It's FREE to consumers.
- What is phishing?
Phishing is a form of email fraud where senders impersonate legitimate
businesses and organizations to try and get you to divulge personal
information like passwords, account numbers, etc. so they can steal your
identity and/or funds from your account. These phishing messages are
becoming more and more realistic-looking and phishers are not just
targeting large financial institutions, but even smaller businesses and
organizations.
- What companies (senders) are currently identified by the Iconix
solution?
A list of identified senders can be found at http://www.iconix.com
- Will this change my current email solution or provider?
No. You continue using the same email browser or client that you are
using now. Your email experience will remain the same, except now you'll
be able to see the Truemark icons, and when you mouse over the icon, a
Truemark profile box will show you more details.
- Will you see my email?
No. Your email continues to travel the same path it always did. Your
messages are NOT routed through us. The eMail ID software simply checks
messages in the inbox to see if the sender is on our list of identified
senders.
- How can my business become a registered sender?
Submit a request at our web site.
- I have a question that isn't answered here, where do I go now?
You can read more information and post questions in our user forum.
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
- How does the Iconix solution work?
Iconix eMail ID confirms the source of email messages using
industry-standard authentication technologies such as Sender ID and
DomainKeys. After we get a positive result from these authentication
checks, we check that result against a list of identified senders. This
multi-step process is required to make sure we aren't adding a Truemark
icon to a spoofed message.
- Can Iconix eMail ID be spoofed?
The Iconix solution couples our advanced technologies with
authentication techniques such as Yahoo!'s Domain Keys and Microsoft's
Sender ID to confirm the source of an email, and will support Domain
Keys Identified Mail (DKIM), which is a joint effort between Cisco and
Yahoo!, as it is adopted in the industry. This combined solution makes
it very difficult for bad guys to spoof the identity of emails with an
Iconix Truemark icon. Not impossible, just very difficult.
- Tell me more about Sender ID
Sender ID records tell the world what IP address(es) senders use to
send mail. When receiving a message from that IP address, this record
can be checked to make sure the sender's email address isn't being
spoofed. To learn more about Sender ID see our web site.
- Tell me more about Domain Keys
Domain Keys is a technology that gives email providers a mechanism for
verifying both the domain of each email sender and the integrity of the
messages sent (i.e,. that they were not altered during transit). And,
once the domain can be verified, it can be compared to the domain used
by the sender in the From: field of the message to detect forgeries. If
it's a forgery, then it's spam or fraud, and it can be dropped without
impact to the user. If it's not a forgery, then the domain is known, and
we can check that domain name against our list of identified senders. To
learn more about Domain Keys see our web site.
- What's the difference between this solution and a spam filter?
Spam filters are like a net that stop emails by using suspect words,
characters, etc. Iconix eMail ID doesn't filter or prevent email
messages from coming in, we just help you identify senders quickly and
easily.
- How is this better than other email authentication solutions?
The Iconix solution uses a two-step process. Normal authentication
solutions will verify that a domain is a valid domain, but that domain
could still be owned by a fraudulent person. The second step in our
process verifies the identity of the sender themselves to ensure the
message is truly from them.
- Are messages without a Truemark icon suspicious?
Messages without a Truemark icon should be treated with the same
caution you use now to open messages. It may mean that the sender does
not send authenticated mail or that they are not currently an identified
sender in the Truemark service. It does _NOT_ absolutely mean it is
spam or a scam. You treat that mail according to your procedures for
other email received.
- What if I don't see any Truemark icons in my inbox?
You probably have not received messages from any Iconix identified
senders yet. To check whether the Iconix eMail ID software is
operational, look for an 'Iconix enabled' logo on your email screen. You
can also use the self test button at our support page to send yourself a
message to see if our logo appears next to our email in your inbox.
- What does it mean if I don't see a Truemark icon next to a message
from a company that's on your list of identified senders?
There are three reasons this may occur:
Companies send email from many different addresses and domains. In some
cases, they authenticate email sent from some addresses and not from
others, and we can only display a Truemark icon for authenticated
addresses that are on our list. To submit the sender's email address so
that we can inform the company and update our list with additional
authenticated addresses, click where requested on our web site.
This message may have been forwarded before arriving in your inbox. In
some cases, the email authentication cannot be verified if the message
is forwarded, so even though the message may be real, we cannot mark it
as such.
Or -- This message may be a spoof. Use the same caution you use on any
unmarked email when dealing with this message. Your judgment and
caution is the solution.
- I have a question that isn't answered here, where do I go now?
You can read more information and post questions in our user forum.
DOWNLOAD & SETUP QUESTIONS
- What are the system requirements for using Iconix eMail ID?
Iconix eMail ID works with Internet Explorer 5.0+, Internet Explorer
7BETA 2, Mozilla Firefox and Windows XP/2000. We will be supporting
Macintosh and SafariTM in the near future. Chck our website to see
when new versions are available.
- Do I need to configure any settings?
No, just download and follow the prompts. After you have downloaded,
continue sending and reading email as you normally do; if we identify
messages from one of our identified senders you will see the Truemark
icon.
- Does it work with my email program?
We currently support Microsoft Outlook Express, MSN Hotmail,
Yahoo! Mail and many more. Check our website to see the entire list.
You can also sign up to be notified when we add support for new email
programs.
- How do I upgrade from an older version of Iconix eMail ID?
When it comes to email safety, updates are important so Iconix eMail ID
updates itself automatically. You can check for updates manually in
Internet Explorer by going to Tools>Iconix Preferences>Check for updates
- How easy is Iconix eMail ID to install?
Installation is a snap!
Click here to go to the download page. Click Run or Save in the new
window that appears. The download will start. You will be asked to
allow automatic updates, click 'I Agree' to continue. During the
installation you will be asked to close your internet browser to
complete the install, click yes. Next screen will show that you are
finished. Congratulations! If you don't already see Truemark icons in
your inbox, you can send yourself a test message here.
- How long will the download take?
If you're on a high speed connection, it's very quick. If you're on
dial-up, it's probably about a 4 minute download.
- How do I uninstall Iconix eMail ID?
You can easily uninstall Iconix eMail ID by going to: Start > Programs
> Iconix > Uninstall Iconix eMail ID
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You can find out more about this
sender-ID for email at http://www.iconix.com PAT]
Path: telecom-digest.org!ptownson
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2006 22:36:09 -0700
From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Cingular Analog/TDMA Surcharge
Message-ID: <telecom25.288.2@telecom-digest.org>
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com
Sender: editor@telecom-digest.org
X-URL: http://telecom-digest.org/
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 25, Issue 288, Message 2 of 6
Lines: 25
Anthony Bellanga wrote:
> Over the years, various miscellaneous entities (I assume Cellular One)
> were taken over by SBC Mobility, or BellSouth Mobility, or post-2000
> by Cingular.
I'm not sure when SBC acquired the CellularONE brand, but they owned
it until they sold it as part of the creation of Cingular. The brand
went to Western Wireless.
Western Wireless was then bought by Alltel. Alltel is marketing under
their own name, but there are some independent C1 franchisees like
Dobson who continue to sell their services as CellularONE.
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Apple Valley, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 'Dobson Cellular One' is what we have
here in our town. Dobson also has an 'antenna farm' southeast of town
in a rural area called Liberty, Kansas, and quite a few carriers are
out there on his 'farm', where he leases space to them. PAT]
Patrick Townson (ptownson@telecom-digest.org)