Fighting spam on Linux
Grok Headline matches for Fighting spam on Linux
Symantec Brightmail Anti-Spam v6.0
delivers next-generation spam-fighting
power, control to enterprises
Symantec Brightmail Anti-Spam v6.0
delivers next-generation spam-fighting
power, control to enterprises
07/01/2004 10:20 PMSunday Times South Africa Jul 2 2004 2:42AM GMT
Fighting Spam with Digital IDs
Fighting Spam with Digital IDs
12/05/2002 07:49 PMJon Udell on the pitfalls of permission-based spam filters: If we rule
out spontaneous association then we will not have...
Fighting spam: Opting out is in
Fighting spam: Opting out is in
06/23/2004 01:13 AMStraits Times Jun 23 2004 5:26AM GMT
Fighting comment spam
Fighting comment spam
02/01/2005 08:40 PMJay Allen has written a very nice document on how to fight comment
spam Jay Allen should know a thing or two about comment spam. Before
joing Six Apart he wrote the now famous MT-Blacklist plugin for
Movable Type. If...
New Google Spam Fighting
New Google Spam Fighting
03/11/2003 01:22 AMWebmasterWorld: Good news about expired domains. ``We've also put more
of a focus on algorithmic improvements for spam issues. One resulting
improvement with this index is better handling of expired domains--the
authority for a domain will be reset when a domain expires, even
though dangling links to the expired domain are still out on the web.
We'll be rolling this change in over the next few months starting with
this index. [...] I think you'll see more emphasis at Google on
scalable algorithms rather than responding to individual spam
reports.'' Basically, when you buy a domain that previously expired,
you won't get the PageRank the old domain's owner accrued. Neat
idea....
Fighting spam with insults?
Fighting spam with insults?
06/01/2004 03:50 AMOne of my many domains have been used by spammers for a while.
Unfortunately its not much I can do about it, without spending a...
Step one in comment spam fighting
Step one in comment spam fighting
11/14/2003 10:54 PMOne of the drawbacks to rolling your own weblog software is that any
time you want to add a feature you have to do it yourself.
For instance, I’ve wished a few times that I could use Jay
Allen’s
MT-Blacklist
plugin. It would make it easier to fight comment spam.
(I have very good reasons for sticking with my own weblog software.
I’m not going to change; please don’t suggest it.)
However, my software has a feature that would be cool to see in other
weblog software, so I wanted to mention it: there’s an RSS feed
that shows the last n comments, no matter which post they’re in
reply to.
This means that no comment spam appears, even in very old posts, that
I don’t see. I still have to go to the trouble of deleting
it—but it’s much better than not knowing about it.
It may be that some other weblog software packages already have this
feature. If so—cool. If yours doesn’t have this feature,
you might want to consider it. I totally rely on it myself (and not
just for fighting comment spam).
You might say—well, my weblog software does email notifications
of comments, so an RSS feed of recent comments isn’t needed.
And I’d reply—well, my software has email notifications
too. I found that I hardly ever looked at them. In amongst all the
other email noise, comments notifications don’t work that
well.
But an RSS feed for recent comments works wonderfully.
Guide for Fighting Comment Spam
Guide for Fighting Comment Spam
01/04/2005 08:15 PMCall it a late holiday gift or a great way to start the new year. In
either case, we are...
Think Spam Is Tough? Try Fighting Spim
Think Spam Is Tough? Try Fighting Spim
06/08/2004 06:58 PMInternet.com Jun 8 2004 9:51PM GMT
Fighting Spam with DNA Sequencing
Algorithms
Fighting Spam with DNA Sequencing
Algorithms
08/22/2004 08:18 AMLatest ideas for fighting spam not the
greatest
Latest ideas for fighting spam not the
greatest
03/06/2004 01:55 AMSiliconValley.com Feb 25 2004 11:47AM GMT
Microsoft Details Spam Fighting Plans
Microsoft Details Spam Fighting Plans
05/05/2004 03:35 PMFractured Realities: Fighting Against
Comment Spam
Fractured Realities: Fighting Against
Comment Spam
02/01/2005 09:14 PMIn a
new
posting over on Fractured Realities (Davey Shafik's weblog) today,
he talks more about the eternal struggle these days with that menace
of weblogs everywhere -
comment
spam.
Spam fighting hurts legitimate business?
Spam fighting hurts legitimate business?
04/09/2004 04:10 PMMessenger Spam Senders Fighting Back
Against FTC
Messenger Spam Senders Fighting Back
Against FTC
12/09/2003 05:03 PMLast month the FTC decided that it was time to
crack
down on the issue of Windows Messenger spam - which had been
getting some attention lately. Messenger spam has nothing to do with
instant messaging, but with the Windows Messenger product that is used
by network admins and such to alert computer users of important things
("our network is going down for five minutes" or something like that).
Most home computers (and many work computers) have no need to have
this feature turned on - but many still do and spammers were
exploiting that. When the FTC decided to crack down they took action
against one company that had been known to send the messages every ten
minutes in some cases. It turns out the company is run by two college
kids who are now (surprisingly)
fight
ing back against the FTC. Part of the claim against them was that
their spam messages were touting software that could block these
messages. As someone points out, it's a bit like "vandals throwing
bricks through windows to sell home-security systems." The defense
from the kids is that (a) they weren't doing anything illegal by
sending out these spam messages (b) the messages did no damage and (c)
the software they were selling actually did block those messages.
Thus, they say that using messenger spam was actually a good way of
targeting customers who needed their software. Of course, they leave
out is that you don't actually need any software to turn off the
Messenger feature. Their lawyer is also painting them as "good kids"
who would never do anything harmful. They might have a case. As much
as I believe they knew exactly what they were doing in annoying the
hell out of a lot of people, it is questionable whether or not it was
illegal.
Microsoft spam-fighting proposal
rejected
Microsoft spam-fighting proposal
rejected
09/19/2004 09:40 AMCNEWS Sep 19 2004 2:14PM GMT
Do We Need A Hybrid Approach To Fighting
Spam And Viruses?
Do We Need A Hybrid Approach To Fighting
Spam And Viruses?
05/07/2004 12:11 PMThere's an ongoing battle about how to best fight threats like spam
and viruses (and spyware and trojans and worms, etc...). Some think
that it should be at the network level, where an ISP or a company can
set up filters, while others believe it needs to be at the desktop.
In an interview with the CTO for MessageLabs (makers of "managed email
security products" - so you know where his bias is) he makes the
compelling case for
moving
the protection up to the network level (of course, he means using
MessageLabs' solution). His argument is that you can keep filters
much more up-to-date at the network level, even to the point of
updating them multiple times per day. It also removes the hassle of
end-users getting anywhere near some of these malicious files - some
of which use social engineering tricks to get users to do things they
shouldn't. Of course, he's only telling half the story. Blocking at
the network level is increasingly becoming a necessity, but it assumes
that users always access the internet in the same way. These days,
with laptops and things like WiFi, people access the internet from
many different places, and you don't always know who's managing the
network protection. You also don't know who might be connecting to
your local network - and what sort of nasty stuff they've already been
exposed to. It seems that a hybrid approach is going to become
increasingly important. Some have said the trend needs to move from
"scan and block" to
"comply and connect" - which may represent the hybrid approach
that things are heading towards. You allow most of the filtering to
still occur on the network, but you don't allow an individual machine
to connect to a network unless it's been shown to "comply" with
whatever security policies have been established. While more
corporate users are moving in this direction, it may be time for
residential broadband service providers to look at providing similar
solutions themselves. The issue, as always, is how much control
people are willing to give their service providers. No one wants to
be denied a connection because suddenly their ISP says they haven't
complied with some weird security aspect that the user knows they have
complied with. However, as these malicious attacks get worse, it's
likely that we're going to move closer to a world where getting on the
network is going to mean proving you're clean, while network level
machines will be required to block out the nastiest attacks.
AOL buys Mailblocks in spam-fighting
effort
AOL buys Mailblocks in spam-fighting
effort
08/04/2004 12:59 PMAmerica Online Inc. (AOL) has snapped up Web-based e-mail company
Mailblocks Inc. in an effort to bolster its own e-mail services with
greater antispam protection, mail management, and interface
improvements, it said Wednesday.
Industry Alliance Touts Authentication
in Fighting Spam
Industry Alliance Touts Authentication
in Fighting Spam
06/22/2004 03:46 PMAOL, Earthlink, Microsoft and Yahoo publish a plan for making the
Internet more hostile to unsolicited e-mail through authentication
based on IP domains and content signing.
Community Spam Fighting Effort Faces
Heat
Community Spam Fighting Effort Faces
Heat
12/19/2004 03:37 PMSymantec Buys Brightmail - A Step
Towards Hybrid Spam Fighting
Symantec Buys Brightmail - A Step
Towards Hybrid Spam Fighting
05/19/2004 05:48 PMWe've talked in the past about how the ways to fight all that ails
your computer are converging. Symantec is realizing this, and has
decided to
to buy anti-spam firm Brightmail for $370
million. Symantec was already an investor in the company and owned
approximately 11%. However, it does demonstrate that a single
approach to fighting things like spam no longer makes sense. You
can't just have a network level protection system or a desktop level
protection. Increasingly, computer security requires something of a
hybrid
model - and this acquisition supports that idea.
Microsoft Scores Points Against
Competitors With Spam Fighting
Initiative
Microsoft Scores Points Against
Competitors With Spam Fighting
Initiative
04/27/2004 01:15 PMZDNet Apr 27 2004 5:20PM GMT
Have People Lost A Fighting Spirit
Against Spam Or Is Pew Faking The Data
Again?
Have People Lost A Fighting Spirit
Against Spam Or Is Pew Faking The Data
Again?
04/11/2005 05:58 AMAccording to the folks at Pew (who are suffering from a
credi
bility hit these days), people
are growing accustomed to spam. It still annoys people
to no end, but it's just become so common that people have given up
thinking about it or fighting against it, and just think of it as an
annoying fact of life, like traffic. Of course, it's not really clear
that the data actually says this. Basically, this conclusion appears
to be driven by two stats: (1) people trust email less but (2) they're
not reading less email -- sort of. The study actually says 22% of
people say they are spending less time on email because of spam, which
is down from 29% the year before. However, it's a bit of a stretch to
conclude from this one data point that people are resigned to spam.
It could mean that email simply has become more important in other
aspects. Or, it could mean that most of the people who were really
annoyed by spam decreased their email usage
last year instead
of this year. The problem with the data is that you can't really
compare the rate of change this year to last year, because (obviously)
they're starting from a different position. Most importantly, this
could just be an indication that spam filters have become more
effective. It wouldn't be surprising to find out that many people
have become resigned to spam -- but the data shown here doesn't
actually seem to prove that at all.
Fighting comment spam, linking without
google juice and other reasons to use
the new href attribute
Fighting comment spam, linking without
google juice and other reasons to use
the new href attribute
02/01/2005 08:40 PMFighting blog spam, allowing linking to people you don't like without
giving them Googlejuice. The new link attribute has many applications.
Most like it, but some think its a bad idea.
Fighting anti-Linux FUD, part 263
Fighting anti-Linux FUD, part 263
04/18/2005 02:46 PMDuring my 25 years in the personal computing industry -- as a user,
developer, and journalist -- I've seen a lot of attempts by vendors to
create fear, uncertainty, and doubt -- FUD -- in the minds of
customers and vendors who might be considering an alternative to the
vendor's solution. This was true when I spotted a Microsoft employee
spreading FUD under an assumed name on CompuServe in the early '90s:
the infamous Steve Barkto affair. It is true today, in the form of an
Info-Tech study titled "Mid-sized businesses not interested in Linux."
Portions of the study are available online here. The report set my
internal FUD alarms clanging. After reading the full report and
speaking with its primary author, I have to say that the Info-Tech
study not only fails my FUD sniff test, but also demonstrates classic
FUD techniques.
University of Delaware Chooses Roaring
Penguin Software’s CanIt-PRO, Gives
End-Users Control Over Fighting E-Mail
Spam
University of Delaware Chooses Roaring
Penguin Software’s CanIt-PRO, Gives
End-Users Control Over Fighting E-Mail
Spam
07/06/2004 03:36 AMPositive experience using robust MIMEDefang software leads networking
and systems group to upgrade to commercial product. [PRWEB Jul 6,
2004]
Spam, spam, spam, spam ... Canada
targets unwanted email (AFP)
Spam, spam, spam, spam ... Canada
targets unwanted email (AFP)
05/12/2004 04:17 AMAFP - Canada unveiled a new action plan to combat unsolicited
commercial e-mail, nicknamed spam, which jams inboxes and clogs
Internet traffic worldwide.
Finance Spam Passing Drug Spam While
Porn Spam Is Washed Up
Finance Spam Passing Drug Spam While
Porn Spam Is Washed Up
05/24/2004 05:37 PMThe latest study on spam trends appears to show that
financial spam is outpacing pharmaceutical spam
- though, honestly, so much of both is coming out that it's really
hard to imagine that this matters at all. Meanwhile, it seems that
porn spam is increasingly less interesting to spammers as the numbers
have been on a noticeable decline for quite some time. No matter
what, though, it appears that CAN-SPAM has done absolutely nothing to
slow down the amount of spam sent.
From spam drops to spam spray to spam
stream
From spam drops to spam spray to spam
stream
06/05/2004 07:31 PM I am now getting 2,000+ spams a day. There are 1,440 minutes in a day
The rate of incoming spams is therefore getting close to the interval
it takes me to check my email and dispose of a single spam: By the
time I'm done checking, more spam has arrived. That is the point at
which the spam droplets form a continuous stream. And that is the
point at which no interval of my life will ever be spam-free again....
Tomorrow's Menu: Spam, Spam, Spam
Tomorrow's Menu: Spam, Spam, Spam
12/11/2003 06:15 AMCongress overwhelmingly passes a bill to fight the online scourge, but
critics say the unwanted e-mail will increase because the law will
actually legitimize spam. By Amit Asaravala.
Review: Advanced Spam Manager Attacks
Viruses, Spam For Exchange, Notes
Review: Advanced Spam Manager Attacks
Viruses, Spam For Exchange, Notes
03/27/2005 12:35 PMInformation Week Mar 27 2005 3:25PM GMT
Anti-Spam Technical Alliance Publishes
Industry Recommendations to Help Stop
Spam
Anti-Spam Technical Alliance Publishes
Industry Recommendations to Help Stop
Spam
06/22/2004 09:17 AMThe Anti-Spam Technical Alliance (ASTA), whose participants include
Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp., EarthLink and America Online Inc., today
unveiled the result of more than a year of close collaboration by
presenting a host of detailed best practices and technical
recommendations for the entire industry in an effort to fight the
scourge of spam.
CAN SPAM Designed To Make Congressmen
Look Good - Not Stop Spam
CAN SPAM Designed To Make Congressmen
Look Good - Not Stop Spam
01/07/2004 06:36 PMWe all know now that the CAN SPAM law is a disaster and is unlikely to
do anything useful in the battle against spam. It's also becoming
clear that the entire point of the bill was never to stop spam, but to
make a few folks in Congress look good (which seems to be the entire
point of most politics these days). First, Business Week spends some
time
comparing the mostly effective federal "Do Not Call"
list with CAN SPAM. The DNC list was planned out carefully by the
FTC and the FCC, and, while it upset many telemarketers, it was
designed in a way to be effective. There was also enough time, and
enough publicity given to the list that people knew about it and had
the opportunity to sign up for it - while marketers had the ability to
prepare on their end as well. With CAN SPAM, however, it was rushed
through Congress with little thought towards whether or not it would
actually do anything
and without any money to actually deal
with any of these cases. Meanwhile, the NY Times reports that the
sponsors of the bill
asked the FTC to
sue a spammer the very first week the bill was in effect in order
to make a big "splash" so they could pat themselves on the back - even
as the spam levels continued to increase. FTC Chair Timothy Muris
(who has spoken out
against
this spam law) apparently laughed them off and pointed out it was
impossible to do such a thing. First of all, in order to violate the
law, the spammers have to ignore an opt-out request. Then, the FTC
would have to track down who the actual spammer was - with no
additional funds, because the law didn't provide for them.
Spam king Secure your home PC or you
could be helping send spam
Spam king Secure your home PC or you
could be helping send spam
08/03/2004 07:21 AMBBC Aug 3 2004 11:45AM GMT
Spammer Complies With CAN-SPAM, Claims
ISPs Should Not Filter His Spam
Spammer Complies With CAN-SPAM, Claims
ISPs Should Not Filter His Spam
05/20/2004 07:05 PMRonnie Scelson is one of the shortlist of spammers who just seems to
love publicity. While many spammers like to hide away, Scelson's
always willing to talk. He testified before the Senate Commerce
Committee today, claiming that he is now
compl
ying with CAN-SPAM, but threatened to ignore the law if not enough
of his spam messages were getting through filters. He actually has
the audacity to complain that now that CAN-SPAM is in effect, ISPs
should be
required to let his mail through. Maybe the filters
are a little to thick around his head and the message isn't getting
through to him: the
reason his spam is filtered is because
people don't want it.
California Spam Law: Won't Stop Spam,
Will Make It Harder To Do Business
California Spam Law: Won't Stop Spam,
Will Make It Harder To Do Business
11/03/2003 11:40 PMI get inundated with more and more spam every day, and it's
frustrating as anything. I want it to stop. However, if politicians
insist on passing bad legislation in their attempts to stop spam,
that's not going to do any good. I've already complained about the
new
California legislation and it looks like I'm not alone. A guy who
runs a consulting firm and writes for Business Week points out
why California's anti-spam law won't do a thing about
spam, but will make life more difficult for legitimate small
businesses. He describes a situation where he did a very targeted
mailing for a company. It's probably up to your definition of spam as
to whether or not you consider his mailing spam. I tend to draw the
line on whether or not the mailing was "bulk" - which it sounds like
his was. I believe that if the email is truly targeted and
personalized about a potential business relationship, then it's hard
to call it spam. The California law disagrees. In fact, the sponsor
of the bill claims that any email contact between two companies is not
legitimate if it hasn't been initiated under some other form. That's
simply ridiculous. As I've said before, plenty of "commercial"
websites contact Techdirt every day about the possibility of
partnerships or links. Under California's anti-spam law, I could
charge them with spam. I recently heard from a major technology
magazine, asking if I would add them to my Quicklinks box. Should I
sue them for spam? According to the law, I could.
New zombie spam technique may send spam
levels through the roof
New zombie spam technique may send spam
levels through the roof
02/05/2005 09:36 PMWarnings abound about a change in tactics on the part of zombie PC
network operators. As a result, spam levels could rise to nearly 95%
of all e-mails sent.
AOL Falls In Love With The Wrong Spam
Stats -- Says Spam Decreased
AOL Falls In Love With The Wrong Spam
Stats -- Says Spam Decreased
12/27/2004 01:32 PMAOL is claiming that their new spam filter has greatly reduced spam,
creating
nice looking headlines about less
spam. Of course, you could question their findings. The details
show that what was reduced was
spam complaints. This
might be a proxy for the amount of spam that got through to
inboxes, or it might just show that AOL subscribers have wised up and
realized that reporting spam to AOL doesn't seem to do a bit of good
-- and they've just given up on it.
Anti-spam activists targets of
spam-spawning virus
Anti-spam activists targets of
spam-spawning virus
12/06/2003 09:45 AMCanadian Press Dec 6 2003 9:11AM ET
Grok Description matches for Fighting spam on Linux
GrokA matches for Fighting spam on Linux
Fighting spam on Linux
