'Free' spam tool not as free as it seemed

Anti-spam firm Cloudmark is under fire from beta testers outraged at the fact the company is to charge for its latest spam-blocking system, which testers were told was going to be offered free of charge.

Pelted from one side by irate beta testers for its $3.99 per month levy, Cloudmark is also taking hits on the other side from industry analysts who question whether the crowded market for spam-blocking tools and services can support a revenue model reliant on consumer subscriptions.

The Cloudmark fee controversy comes years into a push by internet companies from small start-ups to major media conglomerates to convert their free offerings to paid services. It also coincides with efforts by some companies, including Yahoo!, to capitalise on the spam quagmire by offering premium spam-blocking services along with basic free ones.

The decision by Cloudmark to charge $3.99 per month for SpamNet, its collaborative spam-blocking service, caught members off guard. The system, which blocks unsolicited commercial email based on what messages users report, launched 11 months ago in a free beta, or test, version.

Whether Cloudmark promised that it would remain free remains a bone of contention between the management and beta testers.

Dwight Zenzano, a US technology consultant with CadenceQuest, said: "Cloudmark prided itself on being 100 per cent free, and free forever. It is us, the hard-working beta testers and users of the SpamNet client that make the product so effective, and now they plan to charge us? As a 'gesture', Cloudmark has said that all beta testers can use the product for only $1.99/month. That is still crazy, as we were promised a free product forever."

Cloudmark's first press release, issued in June 2002, says "the beta version of SpamNet is available for free," and makes no mention of charging for future versions. At the time, the company said it would keep a version of the consumer product free, making money by charging for a more advanced version and an enterprise version.

The enterprise product launched in November under the name Authority.