Commtouch Reports Spammers Use of 'New Alphabet' in January Defies CAN-SPAM Law Requirements.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2004

Spammers are Modifying the English Alphabet to Invade User

Mailboxes and Avoid Anti-Spam and

Content Filtering Software

Commtouch(R) (Nasdaq:CTCH), a global developer and provider of proprietary anti-spam solutions featuring Recurrent Pattern Detection (RPD)(TM) technology, said its spam detection center saw no change in the number of spam outbreaks distributed over the Internet in the month of January 2004 versus the month of December 2003, which does not bode well for those hoping that the CAN-SPAM Federal law -- in its first month of existence -- would begin to reduce the amount of spam on the Internet.

Commtouch's SPAM lab reported that more than 98% of all spam email is not complying with CAN-SPAM. Spammers continue to use deceptive letters in the message headers and body in reinventing the alphabet. The CAN-SPAM law prohibits the use of deceptive language in email messages. Other requirements of the CAN-SPAM law, such as the need for a functioning return email address, a valid physical postal address of the sender and an Opt-out/Unsubscribe mechanism, are not being fulfilled.

"The month of January clearly shows that spammers didn't take seriously the CAN-SPAM legislation and that the legislation didn't affect the number of spam outbreaks, number of spam messages and the methods spammers use to get into user email inboxes," said Commtouch Executive Vice President Avner Amram. "Commtouch's unique Recurrent Pattern Detection ( RPD(TM) ) technology detects and blocks all spammer tricks and deceptive language automatically and in real-time to provide optimal protection to our customers."

Some examples of how spammers are modifying the alphabet in order to get their content into email boxes include: a = @, B = 8, d = 6, e = @, E = 3, g = 9, i = 1, i = !, L = 1, O = (), q = 9, S = 5, S = $, S = ?, Z = 2

It has been shown that one can easily mix the order of letters in a word, keeping the first and the last one identical, and the reader will still understand the intended meaning of the text. Such alphabet re-engineering tricks make it easy for spammers to pass through anti-spam solutions which are content-based. For example, the following text uses English which does not exist in any dictionary, but is still very well understood by readers:

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and the lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

"The Commtouch Anti-Spam solution does not look at the text or the content of a message; rather it identifies automatically certain recurrent patterns in email messages. Therefore, it is immune to spammer tricks and provides protection against spam sent in any language or in any message format," said Amram. "Ironically there are three letters in the English alphabet that spammers are going to have a big problem with: 'R, P, D', short for Recurrent Pattern Detection."

About Commtouch

Commtouch Software Ltd. is a global developer and provider of proprietary anti-spam solutions. Its mission is to protect and preserve the integrity of the world's most important communications tool -- email. The company's core technologies reflect its 13 years of experience as a leading vendor of email software applications and provider of global messaging services. Commtouch's patent-pending technologies are employed in solutions that are sold through channels and resellers and also sold directly to enterprises. In addition, Commtouch anti-spam technologies are incorporated in software applications of security and messaging OEMs. Commtouch is headquartered in Netanya, Israel and its subsidiary, Commtouch Inc., is based in Mountain View, CA. The company was founded in 1991 and has been publicly traded since 1999 (Nasdaq:CTCH). To learn more about Commtouch visit www.commtouch.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including projections about our business, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements in the future tense, and statements including words such as "expect", "plan", "estimate", anticipate", or "believe" are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information available to us at the time of the release; we assume no obligation to update any of them. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations as a result of numerous factors, including business conditions and growth or deterioration in the Internet market, commerce and the general economy both domestic as well as international; fewer than expected new-partner relationships; competitive factors including pricing pressures; technological developments, and products offered by competitors; availability of qualified staff for expansion; and technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing new products as well as those risks described in the company's Annual Reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K, which are available through www.sec.gov.

Recurrent Pattern Detection is a trademark and Commtouch is a registered trademark of Commtouch Software Ltd.

Editor's Note: For a comprehensive list of modified alphabetical characters, contact [e-mail]