Mailblocks' Challenge/Response Antispam Technology Supplements AOL's Ongoing Fight Against Spammers and Will Significantly Enhance AOL Mail
Award-Winning Service To Provide Faster, Easier Use of Email Accessed on Web
Dulles, VA - America Online, Inc, the world's leading interactive services company, today announced the acquisition of Mailblocks, Inc., a personal, Web-based email service for consumers known for using state-of-the-art technology to block spam and provide a streamlined, efficient email user interface. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mailblocks, based in Los Altos, CA, was founded in 2002 by the late Phil Goldman and was commercially launched in March 2003 as an email service for both home users and small businesses. The company was previously privately held.
Mailblocks is best known for its development and deployment of "challenge/response" technology to fight unwanted junk email and authenticate legitimate email senders. Mailblocks is also recognized as having other industry-leading email features, including an attractive, easy-to-use, sleek email user interface.
"This acquisition speaks volumes about AOL's commitment to providing the best email and spam-fighting tools to our members, as well as our overall, ongoing commitment to the battle against unwanted junk email and the spammers who try to send it," said Roy Ben-Yoseph, Director of Email Products at AOL. "We are thrilled to welcome Mailblocks and its energetic, talented team of innovators to our company. Our members will be thrilled with the many attributes of Mailblocks' award-winning, cutting-edge email technology. We expect these enhancements to offer AOL members the ability to further reduce spam in their email inbox, building on the improvements we've already delivered to members this year."
"Mailblocks' challenge/response technology, as well as its easy-to-use web mail user interface, will provide even more benefits and value to our members' communications portfolio on AOL," Ben-Yoseph added. "This will help members more effectively manage, protect and consolidate their email - and gets us even closer to accomplishing our daily mission at AOL of increasing the amount of wanted, "good" email while eradicating the amount of unwanted, 'bad' email in the inbox."
In addition to positive reviews and comments by noted industry reviewers from The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, and industry analysts like Jupiter Research, Mailblocks has also garnered a variety of notable industry citations, such as PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice", PC World's "2004 World Class Award", and PC World's "Best Buy", among others.
AOL members and users of AOL Network services will begin to utilize the benefits of Mailblocks technology through a series of phased, convenient upgrades in the near future. AOL will integrate some of Mailblocks' most popular features for those who access their mail via the web - such as a redesigned, streamlined user interface combined with faster, easier access to email. AOL will also make available the patented, highly-effective Mailblocks "challenge/response" technology across the AOL service as an option for members who want to use it, which will be added not only to the current AOL® "Mail & Spam Controls" menu, but will also work for those accessing mail on the web.
In addition to the antispam benefits of "challenge/response" technology, the Mailblocks service will also strengthen AOL's industry-leading, award-winning Parental Controls. This is designed to help further protect young users of the AOL service, and will further empower parents with knowledge and control over who their children receive emails from online.
AOL also stated that a transition plan is being developed for current users of the Mailblocks service, who may continue to use the full features and functionality of Mailblocks at this time.
About America Online, Inc.
America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.
Mailblocks and the Mailblocks logo are trademarks of Mailblocks, Inc.
To learn more about Mailblocks, visit http://www.mailblocks.com.
For a description of Mailblocks' "challenge/response" techniques, please visit http://about.mailblocks.com/features/challenge.aspx.
For reviews and articles about Mailblocks, please visit http://about.mailblocks.com/press/reviews.aspx.
Contact Info:
Nicholas Graham
AOL Corporate Communications
(703) 265-1746
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