The CAN-SPAM Act went into effect on January 1st. Anti-spam expert Rich Olson is working to find out if it's making a difference.

"http://spamspotting.org was created so people can see for themselves if the CAN-SPAM act can stop spam or not. It features the SpamButcher Spam Index, an indicator of how much spam is getting sent on a given day."

"By the time people are reading this, the first Spam Index update should be posted. If the CAN-SPAM Act has really canned spam - people will be able to tell by going to http://spamspotting.org "

"The index has a base level of 10,000 - which corresponds to the average level of spam sent daily in December, 2003. An index level of 5,000 would indicate roughly half as much spam is being sent, while a level of 20,000 would suggest twice as much junk e-mail."

"It's a lot like watching the stock market though. If the CAN-SPAM act is working, but only having a moderate impact - it could take some time before the long term trend is evident. The index itself is based on publicly available information, and is not related to the SpamButcher spam filter program."

"To be honest, I'm skeptical if CAN-SPAM will make any significant difference. The CAN-SPAM Act tries to control spam by restricting the kind of junk spammers can send, but it doesn't actually do anything to outlaw spam."

"I don't think we'll see a measurable reduction in unwanted e-mail - but I'm looking forward to finding out. Hopefully I'm wrong."

Solving Your Own Spam Problem

"My advice to users is to focus on solving their own spam problem. The first batch of anti-spam software products weren't very effective - but there are a lot of good anti-spam solutions out there now."

"My favorite is of course SpamButcher. It's a client-side application that can eliminate up to 98% of spam, and is available as a free 21-day trial from http://www.spambutcher.com "

"Someday the legal system might play an effective role in curtailing unsolicited e-mail. Until then, users are going to get better results using methods to keep spam out of their own inboxes."