Visualware tool helps trace spammers

Network administrators and individual users looking to track spammers may have a new tool in their kits after Visualware Monday announced its eMailTrackerPro e-mail inspection product.

EMailTrackerPro is a Windows application that analyzes header information contained in every e-mail as a way to trace the route taken by the mail after it was sent. E-mail header information details the path e-mail takes from its source to its destination. The application also tracks the IP address it was sent from and the geographical location where the mail originated, according to Julie Lancaster, director of marketing at Visualware. The program also attempts to recognize and cut through the misdirection and forged headers that are often the hallmark of spammers by looking for logical paths for e-mail to be sent on, she added.

EMailTrackerPro can also determine the continent where a particular IP address is located, she said. When combined with VisualRoute, Visualware's trace route application, eMailTrackerPro can pinpoint IP addresses within countries and cities, she said. VisualRoute is sold separately.

Though the tracking of header information and the like can already be done manually, Lancaster expects that eMailTrackerPro will appeal to people who want analysis done automatically or a graphical user interface through which to do such analysis. The software may also appeal to users who are attempting to do basic verification of claims made in e-mail or to protect themselves from online auction fraud, she added.

The software can be used with any e-mail program, but is integrated with Microsoft's Outlook, she said.

EMailTrackerPro is immediately available worldwide at a cost of $29.95 and can be purchased through Visualware's Web site.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.