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Major e-mail senders charged 'postage' fee(Bulletin, The (Bend, OR) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 10--Increasing online security concerns have prompted two major online companies to plan the certification of certain e-mails, a move that could create new costs for businesses that want better access to customers. America Online Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. have both announced plans to launch certified e-mail programs, run by California-based Goodmail Systems Inc., within the year. The program involves Goodmail accrediting companies or organizations that send out a large amount of e-mails. Certified senders would then have their messages secured with software tokens that allow the e-mails to bypass spam-filters. Some businesses, including those in Central Oregon, have expressed interest in the potential of certified e-mails. But there is a catch: Once accredited, an organization has to pay to have their e-mails certified. "It's about consumer protection," said Goodmail CEO Richard Gingras. "We're rebuilding consumer trust." Gingras said research from investment group Financial Insight indicated that 30 percent of e-mail users in the U.S. won't open messages from financial institutions in fear of online fraud. "Today, people look at their inboxes with a certain amount of dread," Gingras said. "(With certified e-mails), they can look at their inboxes and open e-mails without reservation," Goodmail hasn't released the final charges for certified organizations to join the program. But Gingras said it will be about a quarter of a cent per message. "The numbers being thrown around right now add up to a fraction of a cent per message," said Teney Takahashi, an analyst with tech research firm The Radicati Group. "But when you add up all the different banks and companies that will be using this around the world, it would definitely make Yahoo and AOL a nice chuck of change." Michael Glover, executive director at the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau, said his organization may look at getting into certified e-mails in the future. The bureau sends visitor information via e-mail. "We can reach a lot of people (with certified e-mailing)," Glover said. "It reaches a large group of people with whom we have no prior contact." But he added that companies must be careful in making sure the recipients want the messages. "It's about trust," Glover said. "We're very cognizant of not spamming people. You don't want to violate that trust." Craig Heimuller, network manager at Bank of the Cascades, said his company would only consider certified e-mails if spam-blocking software disrupted communications. "The only way we might go with this at this point is if our customers couldn't get their information from us," Heimuller said. "In that case, we would certainly consider (certified e-mail service), but only for customer service." Goodmail's Gingras said only messages sent to those who have given permission to receive such messages will receive certification, and approved senders will be monitored. Personal e-mails are not affected. "Companies can decide if (certified e-mailing) benefits them or not," Gingras said. "But for a-quarter-of-a-cent per message, it's a significant way in improving e-mail communications." |