Leeds-based company jeftel, which is backed by a local mystery millionaire, has launched a 'leak proof' email system for a £25 annual subscription.
And, if you recommend jeftel's software to a friend, the company will donate a fiver to charity Save the Children.
Jeftel's system works alongside standard email packages but uses peer-to-peer technology and encryption to keep emails away from prying eyes and stop them from being copied on the string of servers that handle normal emails. It provides users with a .safe email address.
Robert Barr, jeftel's head of development, said: "It is seamless and can be installed by a non-technical person in a couple of minutes. Company directors and people who need to communicate privately need something that's easy to install and use."
"Regular email is just not secure. Around 70 per cent of security breaches are internal. And most encryption software is so complicated that it needs the help of the IT department to set up and run - and there goes your security."
Barr also pointed out that the system protects against viruses. He expects 10 million users by 2007.
Once installed, the 1MB application integrates with standard email programs and places a button on the toolbar. But to be secure, the email recipient must also use the software.
Head of a 21-person development team, Barr is not forthcoming about the company's other activities. "Another business that we are working on may go public next year. All of out projects are privately funded by individuals. Yorkshire is quite a stronghold of technology millionaires," he said.
The email project is backed by a single individual, he said. Originally priced at £15, the email application's price was raised to the level of antivirus and anti-spam software because the team thought otherwise it might not be taken seriously.
Barr sees bankers as natural users of the system along with other professions which rely on confidentiality, such as lawyers and doctors. To meet compliance issues, it can be set to store copies of emails.
Talkback
If it uses peer-to-peer technology to send the email directly then you will only be able to send the email to them while they are on-line.
Otherwise it must send it to a server, which reading between the lines, means a server hosted by the company. Which now gives you a single point of failure and a single target for hackers.
Have they really thought this one through?
If you check whois of jeftel.com, you see that the company is owned by the same people who own World Wide Tender/WWT Media otherwise known as worldwidetender.com and worldwidesalesoffice.com among others. This company is a known spammer who was listed by agencies such as Spamhaus, Spamcop and SPEWS at various points this year. Their ISP service was also cancelled by Pipex earlier this year for spamming. This company have proven that they will send unsolicited bulk email to any email address they know and so I'm not sure people would let a known spammer handle their email
If jeftel is a spamming front why is it not being given away for free, as opposed to it costing £25? That doesn't make any sense.
Investigation : It would be interesting to know how many people really tested the software.
Difficult to see if we use google.
If you have any information, you can contact me.
Yes this has been thought through.....no information travels through the public domain - it uses it's own infrastructure so in no way can a hacker gain access to the system what-so-ever. It is the same as our new serverless voip system.
Having worked for WWT media in the past I would state that they are indeed a 'cowboy' outfit and well worth avoiding. Their sales tactics are dubious to say the least and their results seldom match those promised.
I have had a salesperson from WWT Media in yesterday trying to sell us their email lead generation package.
Excellent sales presentation but very expensive at minimum £3,000 spend & I'm rather dubious of whether their promises will be fulfilled - having read the last post I would be interested to hear a little more about the organisation and their tactics if anybody is willing to give any information.
Thanks
Jeftel has now been rebranded as Amteus. As the sales man said to me ... We have rebranded because this was a much nicer name.
The moment you register the amteus VOIP and email software you start receiving spam emails from WWT Media, which I was never made aware of. I only had to wait 6 hours before I received the first one.
When you start to install the software it asks you to make sure your outlook or outlook express is not open...with no explanation. If you read the terms and agreement of the use of the software It leaves the end user totally liable for every eventuallity, including financial liability if your computer infects their server with a virus. The T&C obviously leaves no liability for Amteus.
This company cannot be trusted and I would recommend that no one uses their services. It is definately a front for spamming...I've proved it. Try it out yourself.... if you dare.
Amteus prides itself on supplying private and secure communication software.
The comment about spam is a total un truth. Not one of our growing customer base has ever recevied a spam e mail from Amteus or WWT.
People who post comments and do not leave their details say it all.
Mark.
The activities of Amteus Ltd and WWT in no way coincide with each other at all.
They are both separate entities and are independently run and managed professionally by knowledgable and customer focused staff. I am an employee of Amteus Ltd and would not work for a company i found to be misleading their client base.
Both companies offer internet based products that are revolutionary and of massive benefit to companies, in a number of different capacities.
Anyone posting derogatory messages do so without making their position known to the organisations themselves. The fact the messages are posted annonomously says a great deal.
I advise any company to contact Amteus if they have questions, and to find out the exciting servies we offer. We await your calls. www.amteus.com
From being a former employeee of both WWT and Amteus (Formerly known as Jeftel) I have to say that I did not witness anything illegal even though I felt some things verged on the immoral at times.
As has been mentioned in previous posts WWT and Amteus do operate as seperate entities even though owned by the same person and both do aim for business to business benefits - Not business to individual as such.
The main critisism that I have in regards to the systems that Amteus provides is that for anyone to benefit from their systems, at least two copies of the software must be purchased otherwise their is no benefit gained. It's an interesting research area that Amteus do but I'm afraid thats all it will be for many years to come, just research. Most people use their mobiles these days which I have heard they are working on a mobile version - they need to work more on the pricing and distribution of the system.
As from when I was there the business did change from week to week so I would contact Amteus if you have any serious queries.
I am a former employer of both Minorplanet (6 years ago) and Worldwidetender.com (as it was). Run by jokers, for jokers. You only need to contact former 'clients' of worldwidetender to see just how effective a business they are/were.
Perhaps ask a Yorkshire based, former Premiership soccer club.
for all you poor suffering investors in MPS out there who invested in the company as well as the initial management team (who embarrassed themselves to the LSE and in turn both got sacked) and ended in losing money - GUESS WHAT - they are at it again. Abrahams and Morris are taking another company to the AIM.
LETS LOOK AT THE SYNERGIES:
1) They are looking to raise £4m and initial capitalisation of £19m - MPS`s initial capitalisation was £19.4m.
2) This new company AMTEUS has only ever made sales of £24,000 and offers no particular advantage over similar services.
3) It is being talked-up like MPS was and the poor un-knowing investor will be throwing their money in the trash can.
4) They still managed to fool the investors / institutions by hiding all their expensive cars (80k+)around the corner when they visited.
5) 14 month t/over of 23k and a capitalisation of £19m on a product that has had in excess of 20 people recruited and leave trying to sell its services and offers nothing unique technology wise. If this is not "pulling the wool" nothing is.
6) Only shows two case studies of which both of them have been offered shares in this PLC.
THE WHOLE THING SUCKS. DO NOT LET THESE ROGUES INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN EVER AGAIN.
Various people in the city are looking into this flotation as i am writing this and are looking for ways to achieve its withdrawal.
If you are one of those poor souls who have been victim to this team of uncorporate gangsters, do the right thing and lets work together to stop it.
I came to this site via Google after receiving 3 identical e-mails from mediabuzzmail.co.uk all sent to non-existent addresses based on our domain name. I don't know what other parts of this Leeds based 'empire' do but this part certainly sends out speculative unsolcited spam e-mail.
Anyone who thinks companies like this can increase their sales is bonkers. Using their services will only antagonise potential and possibly existing customers.