IronPort Arms Both Sides In Spam War

securitas writes "We all know about IronPort's recent acquisition of SpamCop. What may not be common knowledge is that IronPort's Senderbase has 'the reputation as the fastest way to send millions of junk e-mail messages' and is popular with spam factories. Founded by two former Microsoft executives - Hotmail's Scott Weiss and ListBot founder Scott Banister - IronPort claims its customers are not spammers but legitimate marketers. Critics say that this is a clear conflict of interest. Playing spam from both sides might be likened to a pharmaceutical company enabling the spread of a disease in order to sell the cure. SpamCop founder Julian Haight - who had to sell the company in order to remain solvent - is quoted as saying of IronPort's anti-spam measures: "I am not sure all its standards are tough enough." The story was originally reported by the New York Times' Saul Hansell. Abbreviated mirror at IHT."

Comments

But after their extensive training ...

[burgburgburg]

in business ethics while employed at Microsoft, I am incapable of believing that the owners of Ironport would ever do anything to hurt the general public simply to make an obscene profit.

It has to be said...

[i_r_sensitive]

Nothing like having your SPAM and eating it too!

Question...

[tonyr60]

So IronPort make both Spam mailers and anti-spam products.

Will they use their spam mailer expertise to make better anti-spam products, or use their anti-spam expertise to make better spam emailer products?

Why do I think I know the answer aleady.....

Helpdesk employees?

[msimm]

Hotmail helpdesk #1: Dude, spam is big business.
Hotmail helpdesk #2: Ya, I bet someone could make a killing off an anti-spam service.
Hotmail helpdesk #1: Sure, but spammers are legitimate marketers too.
Hotmail helpdesk #2: Dude I know, their just trying to get their message out.
.
..
.
2000 - IronPort founded
.

MS-bred?!?

[burgburgburg]

I understand what you're trying to say here, but I find that image to be a bit much. MS-bred? Last I checked, Bill and Steve haven't as of yet instituted a breeding program to ensure a steady supply of new Microsofties (though that might be the plot to that new movie "Paycheck").

Everyone in the Microsoft thrall volunteered. Weiss and Banister signed their names in blood to Microsoft contracts. At some point, Dark Lord Ballmer will come with the Blue Screen of Death and collect from them. That is the way of things, at least until Frodo Torvald is able to throw the closed-source ring of power back into Mount Redmond where is was forged ...wait, it's time for my medicine again, isn't it?

This reminds me of a certain episode ...

[rcastro0]

PINKY: Gee, Brain, what do you wanna do tonight?

BRAIN: The same thing we do every night,Pinky!
Try to take over the world!
{Pinky and the Brain theme}

BRAIN: Email messages, Pinky, is our new tool! We will take over computers with trojan horses, send spam from there, and then we will sell everyone Anti-Spam... for what it's worth !

PINKY: What if they don't buy your anti-Spam, Brain?

BRAIN: Even better ! We will scare the people off the internet, leaving their connected PCs behind! This in turn will give us more hosts from which to send Spam. We will then have taken over the world!

PINKY: Egad, Brain, Brilliant! Oh, oh, wait, no, no -- why would they be scared of us? We're so small, um, we're practically the size of mice, Brain!

BRAIN: We *are* mice, Pinky.

PINKY: Oh, right. Well, there you are then. Nya-ha-ha!

Re:I blame Scott Adams...

[Comatose51]

Now the URL without the space in the middle...