Spam Cube: Hardware spam catching on small networks
Ready to try a new way of catching spam? Spam Cube is a hardware box about the size of a pack of gum.
Plug it in between your modem and router and it claims to eliminate spam from up to four computers on a small network.
The device costs USD 150, but requires no monthly subscription fee.
Out of the box it offers spam and anti-phishing protection. For an additional USD 52 a year, you can buy access to a Symantec-powered anti-virus service as well.
The spam cube is an elegant compact device:
It claims to work with most Windows and Mac OS X email clients including Mail.app. It will also filter webmail accounts, if the email is downloaded into a email client.
Pre-release beta units have already sold out, but you can get in the queue to order one at Spam Cube’s web site 
where you can also see more pictures and read detailed tech specs.
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Tags: anti-virus, Apple Mail, email, mail.app, phishing, spam, spam cube
March 4th, 2006 at 5:37 am
Interesting, I like that — there’s some high end routers that can do this and have anti-virus built in — but they’re pricey (I want to say sonic wall and juniper netscreen have this feature in their advanced versions). So it’s nice to see this in a consumer product, it should help people more.
I’d be interested to know what it’s using in there? Spamassassin? Wonder why they don’t add it to a router too.
It’s a good deal for them, I’m sure the hardware’s not too pricey, it’s like a mini hub/router, and then install some open source software.
March 4th, 2006 at 9:00 am
I think I read in a press release that the software is their own, coded inhouse, not a third-party app.
Since I only get about 30 spam emails a day (Australians must not be very lucrative targets), it’s not for me, but for a small business or a family that sees a lot more spam, it sounds like a great idea.
March 4th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Spamassassin, I get barely 2 a day now since I moved to Tiger server, 10.4.5:)
So their own code, interesting — I’ll dig around. I’d like to know if it uses public blacklists or if they do it themselves… and if so, how to get off of it if you accidentally get blacklisted.
March 4th, 2006 at 10:26 am
I’m not sure I really see the point of buying a dedicated piece of hardware to do this. Isn’t it vastly easier to use software? And much more cost-effective? Not to mention having something else cluttering the desk (there’s a reason that people are using wireless keyboards & mice and buying LCD screens and Mac Minis).
Integrating a filter into an existing hardware device like a router is somewhat different, though.
March 4th, 2006 at 10:31 am
I think it’s easier for you and I to use software, but not the average computer user who would love the idea to plug something in the middle and not worry about it. We may very well not be their target market – and it’s a nice solution to see someone use it for the average user, not like something in this realm with anti-virus/spam protection built in http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=767588
March 4th, 2006 at 11:03 am
The average users I know would not like the idea of having to plug something in. They worry that they plug the wrong things into the wrong places and (silly) things like that. The majority of users can install software (and not worry about it) – those that can’t usually either just use the machine as it arrived, or get someone else to do these things for them.
I’m really not convinced that people want more things cluttering up the desktop either. ‘Geeky’ people maybe, but the average person likes a clean, simple setup.
To make it worse – when the average person calls their ISP helpdesk because there’s some problem, and mentions the device, the first thing that the tech will tell them is to remove it. Even though there’s little chance the device is at fault, that’s the impression that will get received.
March 4th, 2006 at 11:20 am
Hmmm, I can see the ISP issue, though running my own IT I wouldn’t suggest that right away, depends on the situation.
Maybe we have different scenarios — I see my sister or my mom, and I see telling them to install software or turn on software and they cringe. I consider them average users, not you anyone else on this blog. I see tell them to plug in something between their router and computer a lot easier, so long as it’s really plug and play, apple style.
March 4th, 2006 at 11:53 am
I wouldn’t suggest it either, but your average tech-support person (at least in NZ) knows almost nothing about tech and so tries to get things as similar as the handbook as possible.
I’m also thinking of my sister, parents, or (particularly) in-laws. I agree, not anyone reading this (or any – nothing against you, Tim!) blog. They would get me to come out to their place (100-200 km away for each) to install something like this (yes, even though it’s just unplugging the ethernet cable, and putting it between, and adding power). They’ll happily put in a CD and click through an installation wizard (none of them are Mac users, so I don’t know how well they’d cope with dragging an app to the Applications folder).
However, none would buy this without asking me first – isn’t that pretty common? That non-tech people ask their children, friends, grandchildren, nieces, whatever? I don’t see why I would recommend this over buying software that would do the same job.
March 6th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
According to the web site it protects up to 4 computers in the persons home against spam for free. But if you want anti-virus (powered by symantec & mcafee) and phishing protection for up to 4 computers you need to fork over 52$ per year.
That’s a damn pretty good deal? I think so. i’d use it. Considering i have 2 computers in my home and mostly everyone these days has more than 1 computer especially families.
Symantec and mcafee anti-virus charge about 50$ per year for each computer and you need to install their bloated software which eats up CPU and RAM.I’m definitely going to try this spam cube out
March 6th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
It’s not free, it’s US$150. Plus US$52pa if you want the anti-virus stuff kept up-todate. There is, however good (Windows) anti-virus software available for free (AVG), and good anti-spam software available for free (too many to list).
I still don’t see why when someone (fairly computer illiterate) asks me whether they should get this, I should recommend it over software.
If you look at the description, it’s clear that you’ll have to install software for this to work, anyway. There’s no way for a hardware device upstream of your connection to add a folder to your mail client, let alone filter messages into it. Most likely it adds a tag (a header, probably) to incoming mail and automatically adds rules to the mail client to do the filtering. You can avoid some of that with clever IMAP trickery, but the Outlook Express screenshot makes it clear that’s not the case here.
BTW, any product that claims to stop X% of spam, without saying how many false positives are the result, is giving you a meaningless claim. Is that 0 false positives? If you throw every message away, you stop 100% of spam, but you get 100% false positives, too…
March 6th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
Perhaps I should add this disclaimer ;) : About half of the research & development work I do is for a company that sells an anti-spam product, and I’m one of the main developers of one of the fairly well-known open-source spam filters.
March 7th, 2006 at 3:11 am
Ah, there we go:)… Kidding, it doesn’t matter — in the scheme of things I always use Clam and SpamAssassin and/or with Exim; while I see your perspective on how we would suggest an option (I would always recommend an open source software package), I will have to agree to disagree. I still find that my average users would be much more happy with a plug and play device that didn’t require much configuration, versus a software installation package.