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The Measured Effectiveness of Blocking Asian Spam

Posted by chrisd on from the spam-is-bad-mkay dept.

fadden writes: "I recently started blocking IP addresses in China and Korea that were sending me spam. Instead of a blanket ban, I only blocked the subnets from which spam was being sent. After my first week of scanning and banning, I wrote up a report on the effectiveness of the blocks." In related news, SSKennel adds that: "The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has discovered (prepare to be amazed!) that revealing your email address in chat rooms can get you spammed. It claims to have taken action against spammers who harvest email addresses and use them to send fraudulent spam." Shocker!

29 of 378 comments (clear)

  1. Epiphany by Masami+Eiri · · Score: 5, Funny
    You mean, I shouldn't spam up those Yahoo chat rooms with my email address? Wow... who would have guessed... /sarcasm

    A resounding DUH arrises from the competent computer users of the world.

  2. Government will announce next.. by Metallic+Matty · · Score: 5, Funny

    that Canada is indeed just above us on a map.

    1. Re:Government will announce next.. by Cyno01 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Really? When i was younger i had a puzzle map of the United States, it was a blue frame and you put the 50 state pieces into it. But it was just a blue frame, so i assumed it was water and the US was its own big island (alaska just sat there in the corner not connected to anything). Untill i got a globe when i was 8, i didn't know where canada or mexico was.

      --
      "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
    2. Re:Government will announce next.. by rodgerd · · Score: 5, Funny

      You're way ahead of many of your countrymen having worked it out at 8.

    3. Re:Government will announce next.. by Flakeloaf · · Score: 5, Funny

      That is, if they can spend 5 million dollars on the task they will confirm that it is indeed true that Canada is directly north of the USA. Next, Canada will spend 100 million on exactly the same task, only in reverse.

      Um, more like 200 million. Don't forget the study has to be done in both official languages.

      --

      Am I the only one who heard Roxette to sing "I'm gonna get blitzed for some sex"?

    4. Re:Government will announce next.. by StarOwl · · Score: 2, Funny

      Isn't CDN200 million = USD 5 these days?

    5. Re:Government will announce next.. by kmahan · · Score: 5, Funny

      Better do it quick before the poles reverse

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      Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
    6. Re:Government will announce next.. by cheese_wallet · · Score: 2, Funny

      good god, when are you guys going to quit harping on the new york city / state thing. I have never heard anyone refer to new york as a state in any conversation I've ever had in my life. It's been ambiguous a few times, but upon clarification it's always been the city.

      Nobody except you and 2 other slashdotters, even residents of new york state, give two shits about the state. without new york city, it'd just be Maine with a different name.

  3. I'd say something by Apreche · · Score: 5, Funny

    about you know how shocking it is that revealing your e-mail address in a chat room will get you spammed. But I think the poster already kinda did that. /me ponders getting a job at the FTC telling them all sorts of things they don't know. Like how signing guest books with your real e-mail address will get you spammed, using AOL will get you spammed, using hotmail....

    --
    The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
    1. Re:I'd say something by Bruce+Losis · · Score: 3, Funny

      signing guest books with your real e-mail address will get you spammed, using AOL will get you spammed, using hotmail....

      Makes it sound a bit like cancer doesn't it?

      --
      Don't believe the nonsense, unless you hear it from me directly.
    2. Re:I'd say something by Yo+Grark · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wrongly Created hotmail address....free

      Auto-checked by Trillian to keep it alive...free

      Never Given it out.....free

      # of Spam Received to date: 654

      Finding out over 1/4 was from MSN...priceless.

      Yo Grark

      - Canadian Bred with American Buttering.

      --
      Canadian Bred with American Buttering
  4. Re:Fraudulent Spam? by global_diffusion · · Score: 3, Funny

    Some companies actually deliver brand name spam (fresh in the can!) over email.

  5. You're tax dollars at work by bluesky74656 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Glad my tax dollars are helping fund these ground-breaking studies :)

    --
    This page was generated by a Flock of Attack Kittens for you.
  6. SPAM (TM), wonderful SPAM (TM) by TheFlamingoKing · · Score: 2, Funny
    No, no, you're doing it all wrong.

    Proper Trademark Use Guidelines.

    Please Do:

    Always put the trademark SPAM in all capital letters.

    Follow SPAM with "Luncheon Meat" or other descriptor. Remember, a trademark is a formal adjective and as such, should always be followed by a noun.

  7. But by Com2Kid · · Score: 1, Funny

    I like getting all those pornographic e-mails of hot asian chicks!

    *G*

    Seriously though, one of my spam trap e-mail addresses gets tons of crud from Russia and from China. For a span of time I was getting a regular dose of pornographic e-mail from some asian country.

    --
    Need help treating your acne? Come here!
  8. Asian Spam??????? by ksplatter · · Score: 5, Funny

    I prefer Group Spam and Teen Spam with the occasional Anal Spam. To Be honest, I am kinda sick of the Asian Spam.

    And AS for effectiveness! That stuff works all the TIME.

    1. Re:Asian Spam??????? by Mandi+Walls · · Score: 3, Funny
      This week I got some shaved spam!

      And sorority web cam initiation spam!

      Oh yeah! Clicky clicky!!!

      :P

  9. Do they have a response email address? by djkitsch · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd just like to know if it's still safe to post your email address on Usenet?

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    sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
    1. Re:Do they have a response email address? by djkitsch · · Score: 2, Funny

      Thanks. I'd be lost without it - where else am I going to get advice on the best mass-mailers?

      --
      sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
  10. Re:Dont you just love it when spammers get your na by esobofh · · Score: 5, Funny

    Worse - How in the hell did they find out about my childhood family orgies?!?

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    ----------------------------
    Esobofh - Currently drinking fresh mango juice.
  11. obSimpsons by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh Marge, anyone can miss Canada on a map, all tucked away down there.
    --Homer

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  12. damn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    the best pr0n comes from asia.

  13. Obligatory Literary Reference... by Cap'n+Canuck · · Score: 2, Funny

    That spam Siam
    That spam Siam
    I do not like that Siam spam!

    With apologies to Theodore Geisel

  14. Re:Speaking of exposed email... by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 5, Funny
    "What prompted me to do this was the 'armor plate your email address' feature in my user settings here on Slashdot. It made me curious if having my e-mail address viewable in the comments I make would mean I'd recieve lots of Spam. My curiosity is satisfied: You can get a good deal of SPAM if you don't use the 'armor plating'."

    Agreed. This e-mail address attached to this article is my 'spam account' so I clean it out once a week, but I do actually read legitimate messages.

    "When I first started this experiment, I responded to the messages I got. I accused one guy of harvesting my address without really reading what the message said."

    Hehe, I make a point of responding to those Nigerian scammers. I tell them my name is James Kirk, phone number is 202-406-5850 and fax number is 202-406-5031. (Yes, the name was inspired by the haxial.org thing.) The zinger here is that those phone and fax numbers correspond to the US Secret Service Electronic Crimes branch!

    I actually got a few of those scammers to phone the number. One guy was furious and demanded an apology. Another e-mailed me back and told me that the woman said there was no "James Kirk" there. I got at least 2 of them to fax their financial documents over there. Heh.

  15. Asia regrets omission and will make best effort by trentfoley · · Score: 5, Funny
    You get only 3% of your product promotion emails from Asia? We are very sorry. Aparently, you are not listed in our database. We are proud of the many great products that we offer to the world. It is an unfortunate mistake that your email address is not listed in our systems. Please send email to add2list@spam.com and we will correct this error.

    Regards,
    joe

    P.S. Add your friends to the list also! You don't want them missing out too, do you?

  16. Re:we use a simple shotgun... by binary+tr011 · · Score: 4, Funny

    t's our servers, we can block *.* if we want to.
    I do this and I have found it to be extremely sucessful.
    Since I did this I haven't got a single spam email.
    It also stops annoying people who have my email address from contacting me.

  17. I'ts working! by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny

    I did some math on my spam before and after. Now the average promised penis enlargement is 326% instead of the usual 509%

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  18. Purchase Product X Or Else... by leabre · · Score: 3, Funny

    DeaR reCipieNT,

    yOu haVE beeN GiVEN manY OppURtunItiES tO puRchASE proDuct X viA thE MILlioNS of emAilS YOu reCieVE eAch wEEk. You HAVe refuSED. We NOw HavE YoUR EmaiLS RansOM. If YOu FAil to puRChasE braND X by SundOWn FridAY usINg InterNET eXplorER 5.01 or HigHER WitH WindOWs 2000 SeCURity SETtings MimIMUm... You'LL neVeR SeE youR EmailS agAiN ;)). You ARe PRevEnTIng Us froM UsinG You As a StatiStIC. We HOPe YoU wiLL dO the riGhT ThinG.

  19. Re:Argentinian Spam by Genyin · · Score: 2, Funny

    I get about 10 spams a week now from Argentina. Normal spam is bad enough, but I can't even understand what it is they are supposed to be selling. How silly is that. For the life of me, I can't work out where they could have got my address from. I've never had anything at all to do with Argentina.

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