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It still isn't useful against spammers because the filter rules are too simple and too inflexible.

The 900+ email scoring rules in SpamAssasin are totally irrelevant and unecessary!

I have identified the 8 hallmarks of spam and malware, everything else in such email doesn't matter as the 8 hallmarks are deemed 'unwanted content' as needed by those that use my software.

1. File attachments - if not from expected sources, it is likely malware--usually the latest mass-mail-virus-to-hit-unsuspecting-Windows-users.

2. HTML - a waste of bandwith to send legitimate, plain-text email and a delivery vehicle for spam, phish attempts (ID theft), scams, and malware.

3. Quoted printable content - not needed for 'standard' email. It is used in HTML email and to encode 'incriminating' commerce characters in an attempt to avoid filtering.

4) Percent signs (% - used primarily in commerce and a potentially 'expensive' web browser exploit via HTML)

5) Dollar signs ($ - used primarily in commerce and, to a lesser extent, in assembler source code listings.)

6) Numbers (0123456789) - needed by spammers to create prices, website urls, email addresses, postal addresses, and contact phone numbers. When interacting with first-time correspondents via email, numbers are likely not needed and will only be used by spammers or computer crackers as part of their email 'pitch'.

7) URLs ( http://www.example.com example.com ) - one of the true payloads of spam email--all other content in such email is irrelevant and merely serves as a means to persuade the email recipient to visit the spammer's website(s) mentioned in such email.

8) Email addresses ( user@example.com ) - one of the true payloads of spam email--all other content in such email is irrelevant and merely serves as a means to persuade the email recipient to contact the spammer at the provided email address(es).

The only possible use is against exploits as HTML-mails are converted to plain text. Nice "i can program an email-server"-project but nothing worth to use in daily life.

My mailserver program also does everything possible to prevent spammers from using the SMTP DATA command in the first place and punish them appropriately when they do.

The complete details of this process is available at the bottom of the software's homepage.

SpamAssasin needs a Perl interpreter to run and is not a mailserver.

My mailserver program has simple, effective, built-in email filtering.

Mailservers like Sendmail, Postfix, and qmail are sophisticated and likely consist of 2 or more programs.

My mailserver is a simple, all-in-one, piece of software that was coded for high-performance. All it needs to run is the Windows operating system and a initially empty hard disk subdirectory to 'live' in.

It still isn't useful against spammers because the filter rules are too simple and too inflexible.

The 900+ email scoring rules in SpamAssasin are totally irrelevant and unecessary!

I have identified the 8 hallmarks of spam and malware, everything else in such email doesn't matter as the 8 hallmarks are deemed 'unwanted content' as needed by those that use my software.

1. File attachments - if not from expected sources, it is likely malware--usually the latest mass-mail-virus-to-hit-unsuspecting-Windows-users.

2. HTML - a waste of bandwith to send legitimate, plain-text email and a delivery vehicle for spam, phish attempts (ID theft), scams, and malware.

3. Quoted printable content - not needed for 'standard' email. It is used in HTML email and to encode 'incriminating' commerce characters in an attempt to avoid filtering.

4) Percent signs (% - used primarily in commerce and a potentially 'expensive' web browser exploit via HTML)

5) Dollar signs ($ - used primarily in commerce and, to a lesser extent, in assembler source code listings.)

6) Numbers (0123456789) - needed by spammers to create prices, website urls, email addresses, postal addresses, and contact phone numbers. When interacting with first-time correspondents via email, numbers are likely not needed and will only be used by spammers or computer crackers as part of their email 'pitch'.

7) URLs ( http://www.example.com example.com ) - one of the true payloads of spam email--all other content in such email is irrelevant and merely serves as a means to persuade the email recipient to visit the spammer's website(s) mentioned in such email.

8) Email addresses ( user@example.com ) - one of the true payloads of spam email--all other content in such email is irrelevant and merely serves as a means to persuade the email recipient to contact the spammer at the provided email address(es).

The only possible use is against exploits as HTML-mails are converted to plain text. Nice "i can program an email-server"-project but nothing worth to use in daily life.

My mailserver program also does everything possible to prevent spammers from using the SMTP DATA command in the first place and punish them appropriately when they do.

The complete details of this process is available at the bottom of the software's homepage.

SpamAssasin needs a Perl interpreter to run and is not a mailserver.

My mailserver program has simple, effective, built-in email filtering.

Mailservers like Sendmail, Postfix, and qmail are sophisticated and likely consist of 2 or more programs.

My mailserver is a simple, all-in-one, piece of software that was coded for high-performance. All it needs to run is the Windows operating system and a initially empty hard disk subdirectory to 'live' in.

targo says after a cheap shot at Slashdot, "...you actually have to open and run the attachment yourself in Outlook in order for it to do anything..."

That used to be the case, then those clever people figured out how to do it so you don't have to click on anything.

evil, evil world...

I've gotten 16000 spams and viruses since *APRIL*. That doesn't count the accounts I've cut off because I was getting nothing but spam.

I think this problem will just escalate for as long as we have SMTP in use. So maybe SMTP as a protocol needs a rehaul, or a revision to rewrite it completely (and call it something different). I think it wouldn't be impossible to pull off.

Waste of time.

Every month someone suggests that there's a technological solution to this problem. But there isn't. This isn't a tech problem. It's a law-enforcement/sociological problem.

You can only go so far technologically as long as spammers are allowed to compromise peoples' computers and use them for improper activities.

Man, i couldnt if i wanted too.. i get 10mb a day of the crap..

Your approach will work if the people you correspond with with using this 'secret' email address DO NOT add it to their email client's address book (likely Outlook/Outlook Express) or save it on the computer they connect to the internet with. If they do, you may fall victim to the 'fallout' of a Mass Mail Virus like I was a while back. I was accused of sending malware to people who were total strangers to me that I *never* emailed at all in the first place.

As for me, I filter out all my spam and malware with software I wrote after much research and thought into the spam/malware problem.

Please keep the above in mind while other antispam solutions get coverage on Slashdot and this post is (likely) moderated into oblivion for being an 'ad' and 'just like SpamAssassin'--I tried to offer a clearly effective antispam/antimalware solution to all interested parties....

Re:DomainKeys will not work. Crypto costs time and (Score:1)
by B2382F29 (742174) on Friday September 17, @04:57AM (#10274977)

Your approach to describe your approach sucks

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
Now, how DOES it work? 1. Being hostile is not a proper description of an algorithm. 3. What are the nominal conditions? Not receiving anything?

CONCLUSION: Bullshit-O-Meter says: Stay away from that, it's probably a trojan or something similar.

Re:DomainKeys will not work. Crypto costs time and (Score:1)
by B2382F29 (742174) on Friday September 17, @04:57AM (#10274977)

Your approach to describe your approach sucks

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
Now, how DOES it work? 1. Being hostile is not a proper description of an algorithm. 3. What are the nominal conditions? Not receiving anything?

CONCLUSION: Bullshit-O-Meter says: Stay away from that, it's probably a trojan or something similar.

Re:DomainKeys will not work. Crypto costs time and (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17, @04:42AM (#10274938)
Your software doesn't appear to give much in the way of details as to how it works. Coupled with the rather childish URL you provide, it's very difficult to take it seriously at all...

Re:DomainKeys will not work. Crypto costs time and (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17, @04:42AM (#10274938)
Your software doesn't appear to give much in the way of details as to how it works. Coupled with the rather childish URL you provide, it's very difficult to take it seriously at all...

Someone here on Slashdot mentioned DomainKeys as an antispam solution.

It won't work!

Cryptography costs time and money to use! Just look how long it takes to bring up a secured webpage (HTTPS)....

Now imagine if the entire World Wide Web was that way....

Not everybody on the internet have the fastest systems available for use. Even then, such systems would be overwhelmed by all the crypto they have to do in order to process email using the DomainKeys system.

Instead of time consuming crypto, why not use fast, simple, effective spam filtering like my approach.

Easiest way to stop spammers (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 16, @10:58PM (#10273756)
Read their mails and look at their sites... If everyone did that the bandwidth costs alone would cripple their buisness and would more than likely put off anyone hosting them

If interested, complete details here.

It is Freeware/Shareware.

I am actively using the Freeware part of my solution.
'Eating my own dogfood.' as it were.

My email address is not obsfucated. It doesn't have to be if virtually all the spam I get is automatically deleted!

I am persecuted at times for even mentioning it like this yet nobody complains about Slashdot stories about established antispam solutions that appear here.

Lately, an Anonymous Coward jeered me for basically re-inventing SpamAssassin. That is not true. Though both programs are email filters, they both take different approaches to the spam/malware problem.

For example:

SpamAssassin has over 900 rules to 'score' email.

My solution only uses 8.

Why so few rules?

My solution attacks the structure of spam and not the content of spam. Hence, hundreds of rules are not needed.

My solution 'renames' all known potentially hostile HTML tags and all file attachments that appear in the recipient's email.

By doing this:

1) Privacy is preserved.
2) No one is exposed to offensive images.
3) Malware is prevented from running and compromising the computer system.

1 and 3 above will prevent the increased spread of spam and malware if the system has not been compromised first and the recipient is cautious when handling emails with inert (but still hostile) content. As a bonus, 2 will prevent allegations of sexual harassment as pornographic images sent/linked via email and the IMG SRC HTML tag are simply not displayed by HTML-aware email clients.

Lastly, SpamAssassin is solely an email filter and requires Perl to run.

My Shareware solution is a complete email and antispam/antimalware solution, no other software is needed to be effectively free of spam and malware. Widespread, proper use of this program would eliminate most email spam and render all emailed malware 'useless'.

Ironically, I could tout my solution by email spam and possibly 'make a bundle' because it actually works!

But by doing that, I would be no better than the spammers that are already out there abusing the internet email system.

As it has been said in the past, email spam is ultimately a sociological problem. Since the hardcore spammers won't stop their abuse, filter them out for good!

My approach curbs the onslaught of spam and malware spewed from compromized 'Wintel' zombie PCs.

Full details here.

For what its worth, I use the software I wrote myself to protect my PC from compromise via email.

Until there is a universal anti-spam framework in place across the internet, this move won't help anyone.

Until there is a universal anti-spam framework in place across the internet, this move won't help anyone.

It autodeletes spam based on simple, user-specified criteria.

It is fast.

It is not Bayesian filtering and doesn't requre the resources of that method of spam filtering.

I use it to check my own email. I am genuinely surprised when I get a email that got past my filtering program. The last email I got that 'beat' the filter and wasn't autodeleted was a legitimate email.

If you are interested, complete details are here.

It autodeletes spam based on simple, user-specified criteria.

It is fast.

It is not Bayesian filtering and doesn't requre the resources of that method of spam filtering.

I use it to check my own email. I am genuinely surprised when I get a email that got past my filtering program. The last email I got that 'beat' the filter and wasn't autodeleted was a legitimate email.

If you are interested, complete details are here.

is at this URL.

Why use products like DeepFreeze after the malware has run and (irreperable?) damage is done when you can stop the malware from running in the first place.

Since malware by email is extremely popular, my approach simply treats all file attachments as 'text files'. 'Running' a text file on an uncompromised machine will cause the file to be loaded into another (trusted?) program.

These 'text files' can be safely handled, scanned for malware by trusted antivirus software, then deleted if infected or renamed back to their original extention.

As the old saying says:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Why not focus on malware that doesn't use email to spread itself around and solve that problem instead?

Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.
-- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover

Visit my spam site
http : / / spamsite . example . com
spammer @ spamsite . example . com

"Worm solutions are an all-or-nothing thing. If your worm defense is going to work and work evidently, so your CEO doesn't notice, it can't be piecemeal or incremental,"

-- Tom Ptacek, product manager at Arbor Networks of Lexington, Massachusetts, a network security technology company.

Finally.

Nobody here is bellyaching about registering to read a New York Times article for a change! As for me, I finally got tired of the few spams I got, so I set my SpamByte code to 0 to shut the spammers up effectively for good!

The end of the article mentioned Russia as becoming the new 'capital of spam' in the wake of the crackdown on spammers here in the USA. To that I say: "Spam away. I'll just automatically delete it anyway after I download and scan it for 'spammines' and I'll never see it." If my SpamByte-enabled mailserver program was in widespread use on the internet, such spam wouldn't be in people's inboxes in the first place so no time is wasted downloading spam email messages only to waste more time (and money) later deleting them by hand.

Re:I solved the spam problem. Seriously. Intereste (Score:1)
by ShepyNCL (740977) on Monday August 23, @12:33PM (#10046155)
Yo quote your site: How does CF13-POP3(TM) work? 1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers. 2) It is simple to use and fast. 3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions. Doesnt exactly answer how this works? I am interested in your software, and if its as good as you claim, then count me as a buyer / donator / whatever you classify it as.

Thank you very much for your interest in CF13-POP3(TM), ShepyNCL. Below, I answer your questions about the program. If the information below lives up to your expectations, please by all means spread the word about both programs and give others the URL to this post. I *HATE* email spam and malware and tried to make it 'almost impossible' to spread. My solution is, I belive, the best possible, least complicated, and least expensive solution to the spam/malware problem that I am using it myself to check my own POP3 accounts.

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?

1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.

This is done by the use of the SpamByte code, by 'neutralizing' unsafe HTML content, and by 'renaming' all incoming file attachments to 'text files'. Allow me to explain these points in further detail:

The SpamByte code is a number from 0 to 255 that is calculated for all messages that are processed. It represents the presence or absence of the eight 'halmarks' of spam. They are, in decreasing order of 'spamminess':

1) File attachments
2) HTML
3) Quoted printable content (usually used with HTML to encode 'unprintable' characters)
4) Percent signs (% - used in commerce and a potentially 'expensive' web browser exploit)
5) Dollar signs ($ - used in commerce and in assembler source code listings)
6) Numbers (0123456789)
7) URLs ( http://www.example.com example.com )
8) Email addresses ( user@example.com )

These attributes are assigned a numeric value like so:

128-attachments wanted 64-html wanted
32-quoted printable wanted 16-percent signs wanted
8-dollar signs wanted 4-numbers wanted
2-URLs wanted 1-email addresses wanted

Therefore, my SpamByte code of 7 indicates I want emails with numbers, URLs and email addresses in them. If you add up the numerical values assigned to these three attributes, you get the sum of 7. The SpamByte scanner 'scores' all email using the above information. The SpamByte of the email is compared with the user-defined SpamByte code using this one simple rule:

All email containing content unwanted by the user is treated as spam.

CF13-POP3(TM) is a command line program. Here is the relavant part of the programs 'startup blurb':

usage: cf13pop3 svr port login pw SpamByte wantspam

svr - server address (e.g. 127.0.0.1 or mail.example.com)
port - server listening port (usually 110)
login - user login (e.g. user@example.com)
pw - user password (e.g. secretpassword)
SpamByte - numeric sum of all email content wanted by user (e.g. 7)
128-attachments wanted 64-html wanted
32-quoted printable wanted 16-percent signs wanted
8-dollar signs wanted 4-numbers wanted
2-URLs wanted 1-email addresses wanted
Some content may be inaccurately identified due
to improper content or formatting.
IMPORTANT: ANY EMAIL CONTAINING ANY UNWANTED CONTENT
WILL BE DELETED IF WANTSPAM=N!
wantspam - Y=User wants spam without attachment extracted.
N=Spam email is deleted.
Use with care as non-spam messages could be deleted.

Sample command line parameters would look like this:

PRESS RELEASE STATISITCS

SpamByte: Game Over, Spammers/Computer Crackers....

BASIC STATISTICS

Statistic Count Description

Reads: 10,688 - This number tells you how many times your press release was accessed from our site and other distribution points where we have the ability to measure a click through. This number does not include the number of journalists that have received your release through email. In addition there are online distribution points that we currently have no ability to track.

Estimated Pickup: 117 - This number estimates the number of times your press release was picked up by a media outlet. This does not tell you how many times your story appears in the media. It simply attempts to estimate media interest of your release.

Prints: 1 - This is the number of times that someone has printed your press release. We measure this by the number of times that the "printer friendly version" link is pressed. In reality, only a small percentage of users actually click this link before printing a release.

Forwards: 0 - This is the number of times that someone has forwarded your press release to a third party using the link on your press release.

Re:Umm (Score:4, Informative)
by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18, @11:16AM (#10001854)
Spammers send millions of email a second, imagine if for every email they had to do some sums that took 2 seconds, before the server would accept the email...suddenly the rate of emails per second falls.....

(x) Bandwidth costs that are unaffected by client filtering
[The spam has been delivered and the bandwidth has been wasted. In response to this, some of the spammer's time
is wasted by the CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) program, unwanted spam is filtered out by the user's SpamByte
code and never appears in their inbox. The remaining spam that isn't filtered out gets a SpamByte code tag in
the message subject line. In case of bad SpamByte code tags due to corrupted messages or spammers using rogue
software impersonating CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM), use the CF13-POP3(TM) email client to filter out such
improperly tagged messages via message file deletion.]

clambrac (722059): You need a degree to become a paid, hired code monkey for a company.

I don't have a degree.

I was ultimately hired as a computer programmer years ago due to what computer related information I knew at the time and this old MS-DOS program.

Today, I still don't have a degree now yet I wrote the two freeware/shareware programs on this page that solve a major problem that has been plaguing the Internet since May 1, 1978 or March 5, 1994 depending on who is doing the counting.

Now then, what is really more important when hiring your next computer programmer?

A degree and no real-world experience.

or

No degree and lots of real-world experience.

Bryan Taylor
iamcf13@hotpop.com
SpamByte code: 7
(see http://www.cf13.com/game-over-spammers.htm )
All email containing unwanted content will be summarily deleted or reported as spam.

Wake up people! To most companies, the employees are ultimately treated like the annoying drain on their corporate bottom line they (likely) are no matter how hard, efficiently, or conscientiously they work. In some cases, companies are paid to hire someone to work for them via some form of (corporate) welfare [such as a tax-deductable expense account to wine and dine clients at taxpayer expense. I find this almost as bad as letting 'professional gamblers' write off their gambling losses as 'tax deductions']!

The only true way out of this mess is self-employment. Find a real need and come up with an effective, irresistable solution to that need and then the sales of the solution should follow and garner the solution creator their financial reward....

Of course the chances of success are (likely) slim to almost none but with success, the sky's the limit!

It's hard to justify two to five years of education when most jobs have disappeared or have such extensive requirements that a college graduate has little or no hope of finding an entry level position to obtain the experience required to get a good job.

It's hard to justify two to five years of education when most jobs have disappeared or have such extensive requirements that a college graduate has little or no hope of finding an entry level position to obtain the experience required to get a good job.

I think it's possible to stop spam, and that content-based filters are the way to do it. The Achilles heel of the spammers is their message. They can circumvent any other barrier you set up. They have so far, at least. But they have to deliver their message, whatever it is. If we can write software that recognizes their messages, there is no way they can get around that.

(X) Users of email will not put up with it

Secure IE against ActiveX/JavaScript/VBScript/IFRAME exploits

Stop the 'unblockable' Messenger service

To further minimize the possibility of malware invading your system, use antivirus and firewall products. I use:

AVG antivirus by Grisoft.
Sysclean by Trend Micro
Outpost Firewall by Agnitum.

Filter spam/malware out of your email. I use CF13-POP3(TM). It is a freeware program I wrote to crush the email spam/malware menace. It is very effective.

A companion shareware program I wrote at the above URL is an all-in-one software mail server that makes it pratically impossible to accept and deliver email spam/malware.

Spam is getting to be such BS (Score:5, Interesting)
by ghettoboy22 (723339) * on Saturday August 07, @01:31PM (#9909132)
( http://akghetto.com/ )
I run a small home server off my cable modem for myself only - no big commercial operation. Been doing this for about 5 years or so... finally gave up last week after my spam flow increased from ~100/day up to ~100,000 (yes, one hundred thousand) per week in the past month or so.... Tried RBL's, Razor, SpamAssassin, DSPAM, Apple's Mail.app client.... stuff only helped so much. Constanting having to fine-tweak filters, re-train Bayes. It's too much of a hassle. Now I've given up. Set Postfix to forward all my mail to my Gmail account. Has helped quite a bit, plus when I do get a message that makes it into my Inbox, Gmail's UI makes it pretty easy to mark it as spam. I'll try this for a while.

(x) Eternal arms race involved in all filtering approaches
[Use SpamByte code 0 to silence all potential spam-like content. Email communications can continue but it will be extremely difficult and painfully obvious for the spammers to get their message across.]

(x) Bandwidth costs that are unaffected by client filtering
[The spam has been delivered and the bandwidth has been wasted. In response to this, some of the spammer's time is wasted by the CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) program, unwanted spam is filtered out by the user's SpamByte code and never appears in their inbox. The remaining spam that isn't filtered out gets a SpamByte code tag in the message subject line. In case of bad SpamByte code tags due to corrupted messages or spammers using rogue software impersonating SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM), use the CF13-POP3(TM) email client to filter out such improperly tagged messages via message file deletion.]

Spam is getting to be such BS (Score:5, Interesting)
by ghettoboy22 (723339) * on Saturday August 07, @01:31PM (#9909132)
( http://akghetto.com/ )
I run a small home server off my cable modem for myself only - no big commercial operation. Been doing this for about 5 years or so... finally gave up last week after my spam flow increased from ~100/day up to ~100,000 (yes, one hundred thousand) per week in the past month or so.... Tried RBL's, Razor, SpamAssassin, DSPAM, Apple's Mail.app client.... stuff only helped so much. Constanting having to fine-tweak filters, re-train Bayes. It's too much of a hassle. Now I've given up. Set Postfix to forward all my mail to my Gmail account. Has helped quite a bit, plus when I do get a message that makes it into my Inbox, Gmail's UI makes it pretty easy to mark it as spam. I'll try this for a while.

(x) Eternal arms race involved in all filtering approaches
[Use SpamByte code 0 to silence all potential spam-like content. Email communications can continue but it will be extremely difficult and painfully obvious for the spammers to get their message across.]

(x) Bandwidth costs that are unaffected by client filtering
[The spam has been delivered and the bandwidth has been wasted. In response to this, some of the spammer's time is wasted by the CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) program, unwanted spam is filtered out by the user's SpamByte code and never appears in their inbox. The remaining spam that isn't filtered out gets a SpamByte code tag in the message subject line. In case of bad SpamByte code tags due to corrupted messages or spammers using rogue software impersonating SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM), use the CF13-POP3(TM) email client to filter out such improperly tagged messages via message file deletion.]

I want to render a service to my countrymen and to all people in the world.
-- Ghulam Sediq Wardak

The information in this post is the end result of many months of thought and software development. If you find the information below has merit, please, by all means take advantage of it and use it. This will be the only post of the actual information by me. All future posts of this material will consist of the URL pointer to this post. Should this post be accidentally or intentionally deleted, I will repost it in its entirety again and link to it as needed as explained above.

The information in this post, if widely used, will effectively make spam and malware infestation of computer systems running Microsoft Windows impossible.

Thank you for your consideration,

Bryan Taylor
iamcf13@hotpop.com
SpamByte code: 7 (see below)

------- Begin information Below -------
From http://www.cf13.com/

CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) Slashdot-Friendly Page

What are they?
A Shareware RFC821/RFC1939 compatible SMTP/POP3 server program for Microsoft(R) Windows.
It was written in Microsoft(R) Visual C++. The UPX-compressed executable file
containing the complete program is 130,048 bytes in size. A Freeware RFC1939 POP3 client
program created in the above manner is 75,264 bytes in size.

Who wrote them? Bryan Taylor, author of the MS-DOS/TURBO PASCAL program FILE-IT.

Why were they written? To solve the twin problems of email spam and email malware.

How does CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is an all-in-one SMTP/POP3 email transport solution.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
4) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.

When are they available? They are available now. See next question for availability.

Where are they available?
CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) is available here. CF13-POP3(TM) is available here.

Original site is here. Mirror site is here.

The ideas inside these two software computer programs are hereby declared patent
free. These two software computer programs are publication of said ideas and thus
said ideas become 'prior art' and are unpatentable either in whole or in part.

Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved -- http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

-- SpamByte information below is used by both programs above to identify and filter out spam and malware --
Startup banner from:
http://www.cf13.com/cf13pop3.exe

CF13-POP3(TM)
Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved
http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

LICENSE: FREEWARE! SHARE & ENJOY!
PLEASE VIRUS CHECK THIS PROGRAM BEFORE MAKING COPIES FOR OTHERS.

DISCLAIMER: USE THIS PROGRAM SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER!

Note: Your use of this program rewards the creators of the SMTP/POP3 protocols.
Your purchase and use of CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) will reward the
author for making that program available for use at http://www.cf13.com/
and reduce Internet email abuse.

Software should help people, bring people together, make stuff easier to do.
-- Henrik S. Hansen

usage: cf13pop3 svr port login pw SpamByte wantspam

svr - server

The information in this post is the end result of many months of thought and software development. If you find the information below has merit, please, by all means take advantage of it and use it. This will be the only post of the actual information by me. All future posts of this material will consist of the URL pointer to this post. Should this post be accidentally or intentionally deleted, I will repost it in its entirety again and link to it as needed as explained above.

The information in this post, if widely used, will effectively make spam and malware infestation of computer systems running Microsoft Windows impossible.

Thank you for your consideration,

Bryan Taylor
iamcf13@hotpop.com
SpamByte code: 7 (see below)

------- Begin information Below -------
From http://www.cf13.com/

CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) Slashdot-Friendly Page

What are they?
A Shareware RFC821/RFC1939 compatible SMTP/POP3 server program for Microsoft(R) Windows.
It was written in Microsoft(R) Visual C++. The UPX-compressed executable file
containing the complete program is 130,048 bytes in size. A Freeware RFC1939 POP3 client
program created in the above manner is 75,264 bytes in size.

Who wrote them? Bryan Taylor, author of the MS-DOS/TURBO PASCAL program FILE-IT.

Why were they written? To solve the twin problems of email spam and email malware.

How does CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is an all-in-one SMTP/POP3 email transport solution.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
4) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.

When are they available? They are available now. See next question for availability.

Where are they available?
CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) is available here. CF13-POP3(TM) is available here.

Original site is here. Mirror site is here.

The ideas inside these two software computer programs are hereby declared patent
free. These two software computer programs are publication of said ideas and thus
said ideas become 'prior art' and are unpatentable either in whole or in part.

Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved -- http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

-- SpamByte information below is used by both programs above to identify and filter out spam and malware --
Startup banner from:
http://www.cf13.com/cf13pop3.exe

CF13-POP3(TM)
Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved
http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

LICENSE: FREEWARE! SHARE & ENJOY!
PLEASE VIRUS CHECK THIS PROGRAM BEFORE MAKING COPIES FOR OTHERS.

DISCLAIMER: USE THIS PROGRAM SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER!

Note: Your use of this program rewards the creators of the SMTP/POP3 protocols.
Your purchase and use of CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) will reward the
author for making that program available for use at http://www.cf13.com/
and reduce Internet email abuse.

Software should help people, bring people together, make stuff easier to do.
-- Henrik S. Hansen

usage: cf13pop3 svr port login pw SpamByte wantspam

svr - server

The information in this post is the end result of many months of thought and software development. If you find the information below has merit, please, by all means take advantage of it and use it. This will be the only post of the actual information by me. All future posts of this material will consist of the URL pointer to this post. Should this post be accidentally or intentionally deleted, I will repost it in its entirety again and link to it as needed as explained above.

The information in this post, if widely used, will effectively make spam and malware infestation of computer systems running Microsoft Windows impossible.

Thank you for your consideration,

Bryan Taylor
iamcf13@hotpop.com
SpamByte code: 7 (see below)

------- Begin information Below -------
From http://www.cf13.com/

CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) Slashdot-Friendly Page

What are they?
A Shareware RFC821/RFC1939 compatible SMTP/POP3 server program for Microsoft(R) Windows.
It was written in Microsoft(R) Visual C++. The UPX-compressed executable file
containing the complete program is 130,048 bytes in size. A Freeware RFC1939 POP3 client
program created in the above manner is 75,264 bytes in size.

Who wrote them? Bryan Taylor, author of the MS-DOS/TURBO PASCAL program FILE-IT.

Why were they written? To solve the twin problems of email spam and email malware.

How does CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is an all-in-one SMTP/POP3 email transport solution.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
4) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.

When are they available? They are available now. See next question for availability.

Where are they available?
CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) is available here. CF13-POP3(TM) is available here.

Original site is here. Mirror site is here.

The ideas inside these two software computer programs are hereby declared patent
free. These two software computer programs are publication of said ideas and thus
said ideas become 'prior art' and are unpatentable either in whole or in part.

Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved -- http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

-- SpamByte information below is used by both programs above to identify and filter out spam and malware --
Startup banner from:
http://www.cf13.com/cf13pop3.exe

CF13-POP3(TM)
Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved
http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

LICENSE: FREEWARE! SHARE & ENJOY!
PLEASE VIRUS CHECK THIS PROGRAM BEFORE MAKING COPIES FOR OTHERS.

DISCLAIMER: USE THIS PROGRAM SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER!

Note: Your use of this program rewards the creators of the SMTP/POP3 protocols.
Your purchase and use of CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) will reward the
author for making that program available for use at http://www.cf13.com/
and reduce Internet email abuse.

Software should help people, bring people together, make stuff easier to do.
-- Henrik S. Hansen

usage: cf13pop3 svr port login pw SpamByte wantspam

svr - server

The information in this post is the end result of many months of thought and software development. If you find the information below has merit, please, by all means take advantage of it and use it. This will be the only post of the actual information by me. All future posts of this material will consist of the URL pointer to this post. Should this post be accidentally or intentionally deleted, I will repost it in its entirety again and link to it as needed as explained above.

The information in this post, if widely used, will effectively make spam and malware infestation of computer systems running Microsoft Windows impossible.

Thank you for your consideration,

Bryan Taylor
iamcf13@hotpop.com
SpamByte code: 7 (see below)

------- Begin information Below -------
From http://www.cf13.com/

CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) Slashdot-Friendly Page

What are they?
A Shareware RFC821/RFC1939 compatible SMTP/POP3 server program for Microsoft(R) Windows.
It was written in Microsoft(R) Visual C++. The UPX-compressed executable file
containing the complete program is 130,048 bytes in size. A Freeware RFC1939 POP3 client
program created in the above manner is 75,264 bytes in size.

Who wrote them? Bryan Taylor, author of the MS-DOS/TURBO PASCAL program FILE-IT.

Why were they written? To solve the twin problems of email spam and email malware.

How does CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is an all-in-one SMTP/POP3 email transport solution.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
4) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.

When are they available? They are available now. See next question for availability.

Where are they available?
CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) is available here. CF13-POP3(TM) is available here.

Original site is here. Mirror site is here.

The ideas inside these two software computer programs are hereby declared patent
free. These two software computer programs are publication of said ideas and thus
said ideas become 'prior art' and are unpatentable either in whole or in part.

Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved -- http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

-- SpamByte information below is used by both programs above to identify and filter out spam and malware --
Startup banner from:
http://www.cf13.com/cf13pop3.exe

CF13-POP3(TM)
Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved
http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

LICENSE: FREEWARE! SHARE & ENJOY!
PLEASE VIRUS CHECK THIS PROGRAM BEFORE MAKING COPIES FOR OTHERS.

DISCLAIMER: USE THIS PROGRAM SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER!

Note: Your use of this program rewards the creators of the SMTP/POP3 protocols.
Your purchase and use of CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) will reward the
author for making that program available for use at http://www.cf13.com/
and reduce Internet email abuse.

Software should help people, bring people together, make stuff easier to do.
-- Henrik S. Hansen

usage: cf13pop3 svr port login pw SpamByte wantspam

svr - server

The information in this post is the end result of many months of thought and software development. If you find the information below has merit, please, by all means take advantage of it and use it. This will be the only post of the actual information by me. All future posts of this material will consist of the URL pointer to this post. Should this post be accidentally or intentionally deleted, I will repost it in its entirety again and link to it as needed as explained above.

The information in this post, if widely used, will effectively make spam and malware infestation of computer systems running Microsoft Windows impossible.

Thank you for your consideration,

Bryan Taylor
iamcf13@hotpop.com
SpamByte code: 7 (see below)

------- Begin information Below -------
From http://www.cf13.com/

CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) Slashdot-Friendly Page

What are they?
A Shareware RFC821/RFC1939 compatible SMTP/POP3 server program for Microsoft(R) Windows.
It was written in Microsoft(R) Visual C++. The UPX-compressed executable file
containing the complete program is 130,048 bytes in size. A Freeware RFC1939 POP3 client
program created in the above manner is 75,264 bytes in size.

Who wrote them? Bryan Taylor, author of the MS-DOS/TURBO PASCAL program FILE-IT.

Why were they written? To solve the twin problems of email spam and email malware.

How does CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is an all-in-one SMTP/POP3 email transport solution.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.
4) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.

How does CF13-POP3(TM) work?
1) It is hostile to spammers and computer crackers.
2) It is simple to use and fast.
3) It is extremely reliable when operating under nominal conditions.

When are they available? They are available now. See next question for availability.

Where are they available?
CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) is available here. CF13-POP3(TM) is available here.

Original site is here. Mirror site is here.

The ideas inside these two software computer programs are hereby declared patent
free. These two software computer programs are publication of said ideas and thus
said ideas become 'prior art' and are unpatentable either in whole or in part.

Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved -- http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

-- SpamByte information below is used by both programs above to identify and filter out spam and malware --
Startup banner from:
http://www.cf13.com/cf13pop3.exe

CF13-POP3(TM)
Copyright 2004 Bryan Taylor -- All Rights Reserved
http://www.cf13.com/
Last Update: Tuesday, July 06, 2004, 11:19 Universal Coordinated Time

LICENSE: FREEWARE! SHARE & ENJOY!
PLEASE VIRUS CHECK THIS PROGRAM BEFORE MAKING COPIES FOR OTHERS.

DISCLAIMER: USE THIS PROGRAM SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER!

Note: Your use of this program rewards the creators of the SMTP/POP3 protocols.
Your purchase and use of CF13-SMTP(TM) / CF13-POP3(TM) will reward the
author for making that program available for use at http://www.cf13.com/
and reduce Internet email abuse.

Software should help people, bring people together, make stuff easier to do.
-- Henrik S. Hansen

usage: cf13pop3 svr port login pw SpamByte wantspam

svr - server

I get 4 or 5 NetSky infected e-mails every day. I wish people would quit using Windows. It's unsanitary. Kinda like using used needles for shooting up.

Windows users: Please learn Linux or buy a Mac. Thanks.

...to resort to this.

With my program CF13 rendering malware harmless for my inbox, I use Agnitum's Outpost Firewall to keep malware out of my system at the protocol level.

The next step down for the scammers/spammers is to compromise popular software firewall programs by any means necessary!

I urge you all now to create a 'system rescue CD-R' with the installation file of a known good copy of your favorite software firewall program and store it in a safe place in case you need it.

Those that can afford it will simply use a hardware-based firewall device.

This is where it is even scarier that spammers are "hooking up" with virus writers. Sure, it used to be the virus would just send copies of itself to your friends and family. But, now they're getting sophisticated enough to become open relays for spamming or even *hosting the website* that the spam points to (!).

I got a message or two archived as spam by my program, CF13 that were deliberatly designed to poision and render ineffective Bayesian filters and their ilk. Instead, my program takes a heristic approach at filtering spam and has been very effective without the overhead of time and system resources that Bayesian-like filtering methods require to work properly.

As an added benifit, my program renders malware inert and 'safe to handle'.

Kidding aside, Mr. Cumming, but how about using an unmunged email address here on Slashdot like I do?

My program, CF13, which I use to 'protect' iamcf13@hotpop.com, takes a 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!' approach to fighting spam and emailed fraud and malware. It is surprisingly effective!

All the spam I've received since 2004-03-15 08:30:58 UTC has been archived into a single file for easy perusal and deletion. If I wanted to, I could use an even more draconian version of CF13 that would delete most spam at the server level after just analyzing the email headers!

CF13 does not have the overhead or resource consumption that all other Bayesian-ish email filters have.

Rather than 'play games' with spammers, CF13 changes the rules of unsolicited email communications--making it virtually impossible for spammers to successfully deliver their unwanted messages.

As an added benefit, the current SMTP/POP3 email network infrastructure remains intact--making it unecessary to discard it for 'something new and improved' that doesn't have the widespread acceptance and reliability that SMTP/POP3 has.

Me: http://www.cf13.com/ Slashdot: Not newsworthy. You decide. PS: Read first before emailing me.
(Because if you violate CF13's email policy, your email WILL be treated as spam and processed as such.)

In the past year, I've had servers hacked, clients trojaned, and my spam filters bypassed in a dozen byzantine ways. Each time, I patch, upgrade, rebuild and move on. There is, fundamentally, a problem with this approach.

My program, CF13 catches virtually all spam.

How does it do this?

Simple.

Here is the key test it uses to determine if a email message is spam or not:

If the email message contains anything more than letters and 'spaces', the sender is probably spamming.

Deceptively spelled words (i.e. V.1.4.g.r.@), all HTML text, URL addresses, email addresses, prices, phone numbers, and (almost) all postal mail addresses all violate the above simple rule and would be deemed spam.

The only form of spam CF13 can't detect is what I call 'striping' spam. It is the 'letters and spaces' version of the same technique done with HTML where the spammish content is rendered in HTML in 'strips' but viewed in the browser/browser aware email client as a normal spam message.

The suite of antispam tests CF13 uses are not resource intensive like Bayesian Filtering which the spammers poision at every opportunity nowadays.

As an added bonus, CF13 100% prevents system compromise by emailed malware.

How does it do this?

Simple.

It simply decodes all file attachments as 'text files' by adding '.txt' to the file extension of the file. This renders malware inert and makes it safe to scan, handle, and delete.

Right now, I have some unwanted file attachments sent to my iamcf3@hotpop.com email address sitting on my PC's hard drive. These files are likely malware but are so new my antivirus cannot identify it yet--thus necessitating a update of the virus signatures for the antivirus program. Until then, they sit as 'harmless' text files waiting to be properly identified as malware or deemed 'not malware' (not likely).