Yahoo! Mail Blog
The latest scoop on Yahoo! Mail product updates, new releases, bug fixes,

At Yahoo! Mail, we’re big supporters of open source software. To help fuel the next batch of innovative Internet inventions, we’ve just expanded and refreshed the programming tools we offer developers to build enhancements for your mailbox.

With the new interface (described in all its technical glory over on our Developer Network), trusted companies can now build features that help you do more with the messages in your Yahoo! Mail account, and do so in a way that keeps you in control.

Here’s how it works:
Say a company builds a tool that sends users a text message alert whenever their boss e-mails them. With the new tools we’re announcing, Yahoo! Mail users who are interested in this service can securely grant access to that company without sharing their password (which would be a definite no-no); because they don’t have to share their password, they can also easily revoke access if they change their mind. We’ve even added the ability to limit whether the company can view whole messages or just selected bits like the Subject line.

With these enhancements, it’s easier than ever for companies to build new features, and we’re all excited to see what new inventions they’ll build with this service. Developers, start your engines!

– MarkR

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With more than 300 million Yahoo! Mail inboxes worldwide, we take our responsibility to keep you safe and your inbox free of spam, phishing and other online scams very seriously. Did you know that in 2008, Yahoo! blocked more than a billion spam messages each day?  And it doesn’t stop there. So far this year, we have reduced the amount of spam that comes to Yahoo! Mail inboxes by an additional 30 percent!

So how do we do it?  Our anti-spam efforts use a multi-faceted approach to protect your inbox including the use of enhanced technologies, industry collaboration, public policy efforts, and consumer awareness campaigns. Here’s a look at some of the latest advancements from the front lines of fighting spam:

Analytical analysis – Because spammers adjust their messages in subtle ways to evade detection, we’re using Hadoop, a supercomputer consisting of thousands of individual PCs, to look at hundreds of different elements in each message.  For example, Hadoop doesn’t just look for the word “viagra” or “v1agra” or “v.i.a.g.r.a.” to show up in the subject line, it also looks for extremely subtle signals like how many words are in the message, what time of day the message was sent, how different this message is from the last one we saw from that same sender, and so on.

The hunt is on – We welcome opportunities within both private and public sectors to eliminate spam and educate its users about phishing. For example, in 2008 we saw an increase in messages telling our users that they had “won” the Yahoo! Lottery.  Sadly, no such lottery has ever existed!  Yahoo! has formed a public-private coalition with Microsoft, the African Development Bank, and Western Union to allow victims of lottery scams to upload police reports that are used to track down these criminals and develop better ways of protecting people online, and filed a lawsuit directly targeting these criminal con-men.

Self defense – The old adage is true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Through ongoing consumer education and awareness, we are able to provide you with tips and strategies to identify spam, phishing and other online scams.  Speaking of, the holiday season and “Cyber Monday”—one of the busiest e-commerce days of the year—are right around the corner.  According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, Internet fraud surges around this time because more of us are shopping online. Be careful of those deals that sound too good to be true, because they almost always are.  For more advice, be sure to check out our top tips for staying safe online and spotting online scams.  Also, check out the sidebar below for specific tips for Cyber Monday.  With a sharp eye and a little education, you can better protect your wallet and your identity this holiday season!

With Yahoo! Mail touching over 50 percent of U.S. email users, your protection online and the prevention of spam are issues that are always top of mind.  Whether it be phishing scams, lottery scams, fund transfer scams or other crimes, rest assured that we are behind the scene working diligently to protect you and your inbox. 

Happy holidays from me and my team as we protect you from spam, one message at a time.

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Tips for a Safe and Productive Cyber Monday!
As I mentioned earlier, Cyber Monday is almost here.  So be sure to use the following tips when you’re receiving emails from vendors on deals and bargains or shopping online at Yahoo! Shopping or any other online shopping store for that perfect gift this holiday season:

Stay updated: Make sure your anti-virus software, internet browser, and operating system are all up-to-date, to protect your computer against viruses and fraudulent websites.

Know whom you’re buying from: Make sure you understand something about the company you are making a purchase from, and be familiar with their practices and policies. While there are many perfectly-reputable online merchants, there are also scammers out there, so be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. Check out their return policies, shipping procedures, and packaging timeframe. Be comfortable with the website and confident that you are going to be protected in the event an issue arises.

Keep your password to yourself: Most websites will require a log-in to make a purchase. Create a secure and unique password, with a combination of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers and symbols. If you need to, it’s much better to pick strong passwords and write them down in a secure location than to reuse the same, simple password on multiple sites.

Look for the padlock: When you’re entering sensitive data – such as passwords or credit card numbers – you should always look for the locked padlock symbol at the bottom of the screen or in the web address toolbar.  If the lock isn’t there, it means the site is not securing your information and the site should definitely not be trusted (unfortunately, just because the lock is there doesn’t mean the site is legit, but if it’s not there you know something’s up)

Use your better judgment: You know better! If that Cyber Monday deal sounds too good to be true, chances are that it is. The same can be said about e-mail. While our spam filters work hard to weed out the bad from the good, never click on links in unsolicited or untrusted messages; doing so exposes you to the fraud and also encourages spammers to send more spam.

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Keeping you safe while you’re online is a top priority for us here at Yahoo!. One important part of your online safety is making sure that nobody else can access your Yahoo! Mail account without your permission, and the best way to do that is to make sure you choose a good password and make sure nobody else knows it or can easily guess it.

I know it can feel like a pain typing out a more detailed password, but none of us want to make it any easier for the bad guys.

My top advice is to be mindful of any Web page that requests your Yahoo! password. The #1 way people get their passwords stolen is by typing them into lookalike “phishing” web sites, pages that pretend to be Yahoo! or another trusted Web site but actually are run by the bad guys. Scrutinize carefully any page that requests your Yahoo! password. In addition:

• Make sure the Web page address doesn’t have any misspellings or extra words (e.g. http://www.yah000.com, http://www.yahoo-members.com, or http://www.yahoo.BadGuyEnterprises.com) in it. When it doubt, go straight to http://www.yahoo.com and log in from there.
• Be vigilant about anything that doesn’t look right on the page, such as typos, outdated content, or broken or missing pictures.
• Best idea: be sure to set up a customized “Sign-In seal” picture — instructions are at https://protect.login.yahoo.com/ — and never enter your password unless you see that picture on the page.

Here are a few more tips to help keep you safe online:

• Don’t use the same password on multiple sites. Your Yahoo! Mail account is important to you, so it deserves its own password. That way, if the unthinkable happens on another site, at least your Yahoo! mailbox remains secure.
• Never send your password over email. Yahoo! will never request your password from you in an e-mail; if you ever receive such a request, you should treat it as fraud. Do not pass “Go!” Instead immediately click the “Spam” button on that message.
• Protect yourself with a virus scanner. Another way passwords get stolen is from a virus that records your keystrokes. Don’t give the bad guys that option: There are a number of anti-virus companies that offer free versions or trial offers, including (in no particular order and with no specific endorsement implied) http://security.symantec.com , http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/free-virus-scanner.php, http://us.mcafee.com/root/downloads.asp?id=freeTrials, and http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html.

Unfortunately there is no silver bullet against these criminals and con-men, but hopefully these tips will help us all keep the bad guys at bay.

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