# M$N ad says better antispam with MSN 8 - after hotmail I don't think so **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307 "2002-10-28T23:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/1 "2002-10-28T23:38:10Z")
I think it’s ironic and insulting that M$N is advertizing it’s new version is very good at blocking spam. After having a M$ hotmail accout that I had to set to exclusive (only certain email addresses can get through that I specify) to block the deluge of spam I will NEVER trust M$ to control spam. NEVER NEVER NEVER I know that Hotmail is free but spam is one of the biggest problems of the internet and for them to facilitate it just pisses me off and there is no way I could ever trust them. just my humble O ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/2 "2002-10-29T00:03:13Z")
Here’s what I know so far: McAfee’s Firewall zaps most pop-ups and intrusive ads. However, when I go to the Weather Channel site, I get big MSN 8 ads and a big MSN 8 popup. Sometimes, when I pass my cursor over the ad, the arrow becomes a butterfly. It stays that way until I leave the Weather Channel site. I can’t figure out if that’s paradoxical, oxymoronic, moronic, or what. ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/3 "2002-10-29T00:41:28Z")
**k2dave** , I’m glad I’m not the only one that had a chuckle over that. The irony of receiving _spam_ informing me how to _block_ spam! “_MSN 8 is the way to go for all your anti-spam needs. Really, we mean it this time! How many times do we have to tell you people?_” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/4 "2002-10-29T01:50:44Z")
[http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/4374354.htm](http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/4374354.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/5 "2002-10-29T02:37:41Z")
MSN ISP service is \ free, but nonetheless they defaulted all their ISP, $20 a month users over to a web-based account (i.e., nothing other than hotmail) from a POP account around last year. The spam controls now are as good as the spam controls on hotmail. Not that they were that much better when it was POP. How many people do you know who have to check hotmail accounts every day or two to prevent reaching their storage limit (again, this happens with [msn.com](http://msn.com) ISP customers too, albeit you get a somewhat larger memory allocation to begin with in recognition of your monthly fee; but even this limit can very easily be reached with a handful of legit. big e-mails/attachments plus 40 daily spams; and just as with a hotmail customer, they’ll block new incoming mail once you hit the limit). Cynics believe that once MS started selling extra blocks of hotmail memory, they lost all incentive to control spamming (others have long been cynical about how brand new hotmail boxes, never used for anything, seem to start getting spam within days, although MS would swear it’s just wardialing by spammers). ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/6 "2002-10-29T04:55:51Z")
I dunno. I’ve had a Hotmail account for about two years now. I’ve never even gone beyond 10% capacity and rarely get spam. And I don’t have any of the anti-spam filters on. Sometimes I wonder why I lucked out. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/7 "2002-10-29T07:44:10Z")
Hotmail has signed up with Brightmail, a leading (non-MS) antispam company, for unspecified anti-spam services. They’re trying, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/8 "2002-10-29T08:41:35Z")
Is it just me, or does the new MSN butterfly look like The Tick and his sidekick’s Arthur’s lovechild might look like? ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/9 "2002-10-29T11:14:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Is it just me, or does the new MSN butterfly look like The Tick and his sidekick’s Arthur’s lovechild might look like? That’s the VERY first thing I thought of: “It’s the Tick!!” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-n-ad-says-better-antispam-with-msn-8-after-hotmail-i-dont-think-so/134307/10 "2002-10-29T14:36:00Z")
Just a little factoid. Starting last week my spam box on Hotmail has gotten about 20% of the spam it did before. A very welcome change (but still not nearly good enough).