Server-side control

Server-side control is a technique for identifying mass spam based on the number of received messages and the reactions of users. Each message leaves a unique digital footprint based on the content of the message. The unique ID number tells nothing about the content of the email. Two identical messages will have identical footprints, while different messages will have different footprints.

If a message is marked as spam, its footprint is sent to the server. If the server receives more identical footprints (corresponding to a certain spam message), the footprint is stored in the spam footprints database. When scanning incoming messages, the program sends the footprints of the messages to the server. The server returns information on which footprints correspond to messages already marked by users as spam.