Hawaii software firm tries to create spam-free world

A Hawaii company believes it has found a way to liberate in-boxes from spam.

(PRWEB) February 1, 2004 --A Hawaii company believes it has found a way to liberate in-boxes from spam.

Titan Key Software is a new company started by Peter Kay, founder of Cybercom, one of Hawaii's longest-running Web-development firms. In 2002, Kay closed his Web business due to a hard market and began focusing full time on Titan, which he started developing in 1999.

Titan Key stops spam at the server level before it's sent, as opposed to most other systems, which are reactive, Kay explained.

"With our technology, spammers never get a chance to send you spam in the first place; therefore, you or your ISP's server never receives it," he said. "Titan Key is the only technology that does this."

Titan acts as a shield to Internet service providers and to users who opt for Titan KeyMail protection, said Marketing Director Chuck Painter.

When Titan Key doesn't recognize a sender for a given e-mail address, it responds to the sender's e-mail server with a "no such user" error message, Painter said.

"This indicates to the sender's e-mail server that the address is not valid, so the connection is severed and no e-mail is transmitted," he said.

Most mass e-mail software will then flag the e-mail address for removal, Painter said. But Titan Key goes even further and sends an e-mail invitation to the sender's address asking him to validate himself as a person.

Because most spammers don't have a valid return address and the ones who do can't feasibly sort through return e-mails to validate them (it must be done manually) the spam process ends, he said.

Titan Key also allows users to create as many e-mail addresses as they like, with the ability to assign a policy to each address that governs how it can be used and who can use it.

"You can have a generic e-mail and make it wide open for anyone," Kay said. "And the minute you get a piece of spam, you can lock it up and, say, from now on only allow those who have used it and no one new."

A user can create multiple e-mail addresses for newsletter subscriptions, bill paying or online shopping, each with its own unique guidelines, such as a specific online transaction.

Titan Key has U.S. and international patents pending and has just completed its beta testing with New Jersey-based ISP and competitive local exchange carrier SNiP Internet and Telecommunication Inc., which has 28,000 subscribers.

"Titan KeyMail Server is the first system I have ever seen that incorporates a complete, holistic approach to user-managed e-mail," said SNiP Technical Support Manager J.D. Thomas. "We've been looking for a cutting-edge solution that goes a step beyond the challenge-response system. The Titan KeyMail address lets users subscribe to newsletters and the like without compromising privacy."

Titan Key's long-term plan is to go nationwide with a national provider, said Kay, who currently is running Titan as a virtual company with four other principals.

In addition to SNiP, Titan Key also plans to roll out with Manhattan-based ISP Intercom Online, Kay said.

"We've purposefully kept our beta testing to a low customer base and we are going out slow," he said.

Distributorships have been established in Japan, China, Korea and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a partnership with a 150,000-subscriber ISP in Northern India, both as customer and co-developer of a Linux version of Titan Key, which currently operates on a Microsoft platform.

Titan Key will take a percentage of what ISPs charge, but they will set their own price, Kay said.

"They become very important partners with Titan Key because they can differentiate their services in their market," he said. "They can be the only ones who will feature no spam."

Consumers should expect to pay about $1 per month for the service.

More information on Titan Key can be found online at www.titankey.com
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