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What Goodmail is proposing is a sort of FedEx for email. The sender gets guaranteed delivery and the promise that it will stand out in the users mailbox. 
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Goodmail Systems Announces Plans to Launch CertifiedEmail Service for AOL and Yahoo! Customers

CertifiedEmail Provides a Safe and Reliable Class of Email to Help Shield Consumers from Spam, Fraud and Phishing Attacks

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., -- October 26, 2005 -- In an effort to combat the effects of phishing and spam, Goodmail Systems today announced plans to deploy its Goodmail(TM) CertifiedEmail service with America Online, Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., the leading global providers of email services. The Goodmail CertifiedEmail service will provide a safe and reliable class of email that will help shield AOL & Yahoo! Mail users from spam, fraud and identity theft (online identity theft is often called "phishing"). CertifiedEmail messages will be marked with a trust symbol in the inboxes of AOL and Yahoo! customers. The CertifiedEmail symbol assures the message is safe and from an accredited sender -- not from someone faking the email address and domain.

A recent study conducted by Outsource Research Consulting shows that the fear of online identity theft has had a significant impact on consumer trust of commercial email, with 95 percent of US email users fearing they will fall victim to email fraud. A study by Epsilon Interactive and Roper ASW determined that the best solution to instill confidence is a visible trust symbol in the email user interface to certify that a message is safe and from a trusted sender. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they would like their ISP/email provider to include a trust icon indicating that an email message comes from a legitimate organization and can be safely opened.

"Continuing AOL's unparalleled success at fighting spammers and scammers, we believe this new layer of protection will widen the gap between the amount of good email we want our users to get and the dwindling amount of bad emails they might get," said Barry Appelman, senior vice president and chief web strategist, AOL. "Spam on the AOL service has now declined by over 85 percent since its peak in 2003 - but more work needs to be done. Goodmail's CertifiedEmail service takes email protection to the next level - by giving AOL, CompuServe and Netscape members, and AIM Mail users a new way to identify wanted mail from trusted senders. Our partnership with Goodmail demonstrates AOL's strong, ongoing commitment to keep AOL Mail as spam-free, scam-free, virus-free, and worry-free as possible."

"Yahoo! is committed to protecting the inbox. In working with Goodmail, we are continuing our multi-faceted approach to ensure our users have a safer and more secure email experience through the use of enhanced technologies. Goodmail's CertifiedEmail service will be a fine complement to the safeguards we already have in place including SpamGuard and DomainKeys," said Andy Spillane, vice president of Yahoo! Mail. "By highlighting transactional messages such as bank statements and receipts, as 'certified' in Yahoo! Mail, we'll make it easier for our users to determine which messages come from trusted businesses."

"Today's email users view incoming email from familiar commercial sources with uncertainty and doubt. Our objective is to restore safety and reliability to this critical communications medium," said Richard Gingras, chairman and CEO of Goodmail Systems. "We are very pleased to work in partnership with AOL and Yahoo! as they become the first online services to offer this powerful capability, extending their leadership in providing the best possible email experience for their customers."

Every message that is sent through the Goodmail CertifiedEmail service is embedded with a cryptographically-secure token. These tokens must be detected by participating Internet service providers (ISPs) before the message can be delivered to recipient's inbox identified as a CertifiedEmail message. The email is clearly labeled with a CertifiedEmail symbol in the user's inbox indicating that the message can be opened with confidence and that it is from an authentic and trusted sender. As a result, Goodmail's CertifiedEmail service improves the consumer email experience, provides greater benefits to legitimate senders and enables mailbox providers with a secure platform to provide premium delivery services to qualified businesses that increasingly rely on electronic communications to service their customers.

The Goodmail CertifiedEmail service is designed to eliminate the "maybes" that have compromised the safety and reliability of email and ensure the delivery of commerce-critical communications to intended recipients. The service consists of the essential components for establishing email accountability:

  • Sender Accreditation - a comprehensive accreditation process that authenticates the identity of the sending entity and confirms that the sender meets the highest standards of email sending behavior. This ensures that only qualified senders are allowed to send CertifiedEmail messages and that the sender identity displayed in a CertifiedEmail message (name and email address) is always accurate and legitimate.
  • Message Certification with Cryptographically-Secure Tokens -- a cryptographically-secure token that cannot be copied or stolen is inserted into each message and ensures that the Goodmail CertifiedEmail message cannot be tampered with, forged, or spoofed.
  • Inbox Labeling - a distinct CertifiedEmail symbol in the email user interface allows consumers to easily distinguish legitimate email from spam and feel safe opening these messages. Placement of the icon in the email user interface rather than in the message itself ensures that it cannot be spoofed by fraudulent senders.
  • CertifiedUnsubscribeTM and Feedback - secure unsubscribe and consumer feedback mechanisms give consumers increased control over the email they want to receive.
  • Fair and Accurate Reputation Monitoring and Enforcement - measurement of the actual message volume of a CertifiedEmail sender together with consumer feedback establishes an objective and accurate reputation score for each sender. This assures that only senders who display the best sending practices continue to enjoy the privilege of sending CertifiedEmail.

Goodmail also announced that leading email infrastructure providers support Goodmail CertifiedEmail and are embedding Goodmail technology into their products. Only Port25 Solutions, Inc. and StrongMail Systems, Inc. will offer a tested and approved Goodmail Imprinter Appliance, a self-contained solution to certify a stream of email messages from Goodmail-accredited senders. Additionally, StrongMail, Port25, Sendmail, and ColdSpark will be integrating Goodmail functionality into their families of high-performance email delivery products and services.

AOL and Yahoo! will begin supporting Goodmail's CertifiedEmail service as part of their strategy to protect customers' inboxes from spam, phishing and email fraud. AOL and Yahoo! expect to complete implementation in the coming months.

About Goodmail Systems

Goodmail Systems makes CertifiedEmail™, the industry standard class of trusted email. CertifiedEmail provides a safe and reliable means for consumers to easily identify authentic messages from legitimate commercial and nonprofit senders. Each CertifiedEmail is sent with a cryptographically secure token that assures authenticity, and is marked in the inbox with a unique blue ribbon envelope icon, enabling consumers to visually distinguish messages which are real and sent from senders with whom they have a pre-existing relationship. Available to senders meeting strict standards for best email practices and low complaint rates, it is the only class of email available that assures delivery of all opt-in email messages to the inbox, with links and images automatically rendered intact, yielding measureable improvements in email program effectiveness. CertifiedEmail has been adopted by seven of the nation’s top ten mailbox providers and 150 government agencies. It is supported in North America and the United Kingdom by a wide network of email platforms and service providers. For more information, please visit www.goodmailsystems.com.


Media Contacts

SHIFT Communications
Nicole Messier, Director
Telephone: 415-591-8448 | Email: goodmailPR@shiftcomm.com