Slashdot Mirror
CDT Releases New Report on Origins of Spam
Carnth writes "CDT has released a new report based on a six month project entitled "Why Am I Getting All This Spam?" The results offer Internet users insights about what online behavior results in the most unsolicited commercial email and also debunk some of the myths about spam." A very good report - read it. There's also a story about yet another sleazy spammer in Ohio.
1) Sign up on an internet gambling site.
2) Register a domain name.
I have multiple domain names and I know for certain that much of my spam originated from either scanning the whois database, or someone selling the e-mail addresses from there.
I don't gamble, but I noticed that the java applets that were used for 99% of the gambling sites were all from the same place. In other words, if you want to start a gambling site, but you don't want to write software - you can pay to use the java applets of this one company. There is some rebradning that goes on - but in the end, it all goes through their servers and uses their code.
Because of that, I figured if there were any holes in the software, that would mean a whole crapload of open spots out there. So out of curiosity I registered at a gambling site and then looked at the source (you can get the source from a java applet).
After that, my spam increased exponentially - the immediate group was spamming me, as well as selling off the address - which then gets repeated over and over.
I use spamassassin now and I have it tweaked to the point where out of over 100 spams a day, I only have 1 get through - and that is because the code times out and lets it through, not because SA hasn't caught it.
I first installed it in January and in that time have only had it once grab mail that it shouldn't have - from my mom. I added her to the whitelist and have never had a problem since.
I use one of the more recent 2.60 versions, have the spam threshold lowered to 3.5, and I have tweaked a few of the score settings. Workds great for me.
There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
The FTC already filed a complaint and had a preliminary injunction against Childs back in April. See the press release for more information. The article mentions he lives by Riverside drive in an apartment, could be with Linda Lightfoot, the woman mentioned in the complaints with him?
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. - Anais Nin
Argh, Slashdot ate my link.
http://www.visi.com/~rwglynn/030319spamreport.pdf
Here's what I presume to be home address of the spammer named in the article.
ABUSERS: C. Fielding Childs
cf_childs@yahoo.com
Bulker's Paradise
4132 Pompton Ct.
Dayton, Ohio 45405
FAX: (937) 275-3741
ALSO: Charles Fielding Childs, Jr.
"MAIL ORDER ALLIED COMPANY"
2936 Melbourne Ave.
Dayton, OH 45417