An introduction to internet standards

Abstract

Internet standards allow hardware and software from different sources to interoperate, and we can do virtually nothing on the internet without them. Here, Standards' new department editor discusses Internet standards in general, giving a brief overview of why they're necessary. He then delves into specific standards for email that aim to reduce spammers' ability to lie about who sent an email message (spoofing) - the Sender Policy Framework, Sender ID, and Domain Keys Identified Mail. © 2008 IEEE.