🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <barry-3112971801500001@i3-15.islandnet.com>,
barry@islandnet.com (Barry Cameron) wrote:

(I have to say, I disagreed with this most of his post.. but first..)

> In article <rcook-3112971452150001@ppp06.bais.com>, rcook@bais.com (Rich
Cook) wrote:
> 
> >  Just wanted to add my $0.02.  What I find works really well at a location
> >  where I get lots of spam (at work), is to filter on the characters
> >  frequently found in spam, e.g., $$$, !!!, SEX, money, wealth, riches, ***,
> >  spare time, etc.  When I notice a spam get through, I add a new filter on
> >  some characteristic.  Spammers all seem  to use similar subject lines.

I use a single filter to kill anything I'm not expecting - that is, to
trash anything which is Bcc:'d (blind copied, ie the recipients don't know
who else got it) that doesn't come from the mailing lists I'm subscribed
to, etc.

Messages from Usenet don't come Bcc:'d, nor does anything from friends -
they'll use Cc: (if they've got the faintest bit of sense). More details in
my .sig if you want the full autoreply. I've recently (today) changed my
apparent address, but the Reply-To is valid - I suspect spammers only grab
the From: addresses, not the Reply-Tos.

...
> I suggest taking action on two fronts, three if you're inclined
> to directly complaining about Spam to the host where it originated
> and/or was relayed from.
> 
> First, either demand your Provider maintain a closed SMPT server.

That's SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. 

However, insisting that your provider has a "closed" (actually,
anti-relaying) server won't make a blind bit of difference to how much spam
*you* receive. What will is whether your address appears in lots of
newsgroups and on Web pages.

> Only mail sent from your Provider's hosted domains will be allowed
> to be sent. If he refuses, find a Provider who maintains a closed
> SMPT server.

?? This may be laudable, but that only stops spammers using your ISP's
server to send spams. It doesn't mean that you won't receive spams.

> Otherwise, your Net access may be limited and mail sent
> from your server may be refused by the recipient server. Numerous
> networks are refusing mail from domains with open SMTP servers used
> by spammers. 

More are refusing to accept mail originating from domains with closed SMTP
servers operated by spammers. A very different thing.

> Second, insist that your Provider has and maintains an adequate
> filtering system that you can employ. If he refuses or simply
> allows you to opt in to a list of banned domains, take your
> business elsewhere. Islandnet (my Provider) has and maintains
> one of the better filtering options. Of course only Islandnet
> users have access to it but it's worth a look to know what's
> possible.
> 
> <http://www.islandnet.com/pep.html>

For some reason islandnet is ringing a bell in my head - though it may have
been island.net - from the Spam-L list. Something to do with spam, of
course.
 
> Lastly, bear in mind if you're inclined towards complaining
> about Spam

which is perfectly legitimate

> or performing other tasks such as sabatoging their
> websites

which isn't

> or publishing their identities and/or domains

which is

> that
> you may be dealing with folks who live off the avails of Spam.
> I'm referring to Providers who are either spam-friendly or
> spam-neutral. They're no better or worse than the scum they
> cater to. If you piss them off too much they simply threaten
> you with a lawsuit. You tell them where to go and how to get
> there so they threaten your Provider. Your commercial Provider,
> being a business is likely to cancel your account rather than
> chancing the cost of a potential lawsuit; regardless of the
> legitimacy of your actions.

Whooooaaa there. If you've been complaining legitimately (and without
rhetoric like "I'm going to KILL YOU!!") about spam, and have kept some
kind of copy, then it's a daft provider who turns tail just because some
spamhaus makes noises. At the very least you could enlist help from all
sorts of people in the news.admin.net-abuse.* groups, or off Spam-L. They
could put any such mad ISP straight.

People should not be put off complaining about spam by the remote
possibility that a spam-friendly ISP *might* complain to their ISP. Sure,
you might get hit by a frozen turkey too, but does that stop you going out?

> I don't know of any way to stop Spam completely. Even if junk
> fax law type legislation is enacted in certain countries,
> operations will simply move to a non-signator country.

Which happened with faxes! Oh, no, it didn't, because it was too expensive
to move. Some spam is trying to move overseas but gets blocked. And so many
are MMFs or pyramid/MLM scams, they have to have someone in the US. The US
is the target market and who's going to send a stamp to a foreign address?
Not yer average American.

> Unlike
> faxes, there's no extra charge for distance a message travels
> on the Net. I think we'll get a lot further towards eliminating
> it by focusing attention and actions on making it as expensive
> as possible for spammers to operate.

As difficult, maybe; and sure, as expensive.

> To that end, everyone can
> contribute by simply ignoring the Spam. That is, we don't respond
> as they would like, no matter what they're offering or how good
> their message sounds.

Ignore, as in don't reply to the spam - absolutely agree.
Ignore, as in take no action - absolutely disagree. Make their lives hell.
Bombard their ISPs (being careful to distinguish unaware ISPs and
spam-friendly ISPs, in which case you tell their upstream connector, and
also taking care to see through header forgeries).

An example: as of Jan 2, t-1net.com, a spamhaus, was cut off by its
upstream. If you archive your spam, you'll find there's plenty of messages
in the past year which came from t1-net, or pointed back. Now they're off.
That's what making your voice heard can do. It's a good thing.

   Charles
-- 
The Independent on the Web: http://www.independent.co.uk
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