Block SMS Spam with SMSAssassin!

Short Message Service (SMS) or text message is a powerful tool. From getting an update that five thousand bucks were withdrawn from your account to a cheesy massage somewhere in the town, it can do it all. It’s so powerful that Indian government banned block SMS services for a week during the much anticipated Ayodhya verdict to avoid communal clashes through mass propagation.

There are steps taken to cull the SMS spam and it just doesn’t seem to go away. A crowd sourced research program from IIIT-Delhi will use the crowd power and social networking power to get rid of SMS spam. All you have to do is  forward the spam SMS to this number : +91-8826068429. Not an easy number to remember. You can save it as contact name of Spam. The software SMSAssassin works only on Symbian phones right now and the support of Android and Apple phones is on the way. SMSAssassin works just like polio drops. It increases the herd immunity.

A user may consider a banking related promotional SMS as legitimate (Ham) while health related SMS as Spam. So, the classification of SMS as Spam and Ham largely depends on the user’s perspective.

The power of crowds cannot be underestimated. Their Facebook page has only 57 like’s which means not many are using it already. It might take its time to catch on but this is a worthy initiative. There’s yet another motivation other than living spam SMS free. Whoever sends the maximum SMS spam messages to this number will stand a chance to win Rs. 300 worth gifts every 15 days. A nice way to turn an annoyance in to an opportunity.

Blocking SMS has taken various shapes. Do Not Call Registry is around a while now and it was hardly taken seriously. Now the telecom regulatory is trying to crack down on the unsolicited SMS senders. It might take some serious affect from March 1, 2011 as that’s the deadline to comply. If you are not registered for DND, then send an SMS as "STOP DND” to 1909. Try SMSAssassin if you have a Nokia phone.

Source : New Scientist