BT Yahoo! to give free spam protection

BT Yahoo today launched a pair of free anti-spam devices for its users.

The main piece of what BT calls its 'internet artillery' is Spamguard Plus. This is an intelligent blocking system that identifies spam mail traffic and removes the emails from the user's inbox. It also learns to recognise what the user regards as spam.

BT's second weapon is more of a decoy or smokescreen than a piece of artillery. AddressGuard will give users up to 500 email addresses to use. AS soon as one gets passed on to the spammers, the user can call up another one.

Duncan Ingram, managing director of BT Openworld, said: "Combating spam and viruses is a main priority for BT. This new range of services will help our customers enjoy the internet as it was meant to be, free from spam and unwanted content."

Users will also get access to the Anti-Spam Resource Center, an online site with guidance on how to fight unwanted mail with step-by-step instructions.