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FTC Recommends ISPs Disconnect Spam Zombies
Mike Markley writes "CNN is carrying a story about the the FTC's plans and concerns around spam zombies. They say they will be identifying such zombie hosts and notifying ISPs, and are recommending that the ISPs disconnect indicated users. There's also a recommendation likely to raise the ire of the geekier sorts: that ISPs only permit users to send mail through their own servers (presumably by blocking port 25 outbound)." From the article: "Law enforcers in 25 other countries, from Bulgaria to Peru, are also participating in the campaign, the FTC said. Absent from the list of cooperating countries was China, where experts say rapid growth and a relative lack of technical sophistication have led to a large number of zombie computers."
Interesting that you would use the word "collective" next to "shit", and in reference to a Communist government.
Well, hello Mr. SPammer. So nice of you to stop by and tell us about your constitutional right to spam.
Forcing your mail to go thru my mailserver when it originates on my network is within my rights as a network operator. Please feel free to sign up with another provider that doesn;t care if you spam. Of course, then you may not be able to send mail to anyone as you will be blacklisted, but at least you'll be free!
Um...you might want to get out more and lose the attitude. 99% of the folks out there don't want or need outbound port 25. If you do need it, you should be able to ask your upstream for it, but it shouldn't just be on automatically because of the potential for abuse. I'm not sure what your UID has to do with anything...other than verify that you've been inside on your computer for a lot longer than I have. Maybe someday I can berate someone for being a newcomer too. Hope springs eternal....
Hardcore geek here, with a UID that's far lower than yours.
Uhm, I have an even lower UID than you and am probably a more hardcore geek.
Don't block my outbound port 25.
Don't block my outbound ANYTHING.
I'd prefer to keep port 25 blocked for all home users. If you want to send out through your personal e-mail server, relay through my servers. Port 25 inbound is still enabled. This helps the internet as a whole keep from spreading garbage!
I'm so sick of this "Let's surrender our internet because of Microsoft" bullshit. I'm sick enough of it to burn karma by posting this crap that's going to get modded into oblivion.
Microsoft security sucks, but let's not forget that the original spam zombies were the open relay boxes running Linux. This is not just a Microsoft problem, it's an Internet problem and it must be addressed by the Internet at large. This means you must sacrifice by routing your mail through upstream mail servers. This is just best practices in action, just like disabling source addresses that aren't in your network from sending out from your network (I.E. spoof protection).
Not all of us know someone with a well connected server. Not all of us want to post mail from somewhere other than our box. I know that my box is working and isn't logging what I'm sending somewhere else. I know that the government isn't reading my email logs. I know that my server is MY SERVER and that's THAT.
I assume you also know that the vast majority of e-mail is unencrypted. I also assume you know that your unencrypted e-mail from your server will pass through the isp's network, where it can be logged and or read. If you are paranoid, then use crypto and distribute your keys to the recipients. It's the only way to prevent any of this.
If you don't like it, go back to AOL. Then you can have your little closed interface, able to email all of your little friends who use the same closed interface, and get charged for what I can get for free. All I have to pay for is my connection, whereas you'll have to pay for every "value-added" service you use.
Oh get off your high horse. . .
Can I get an eye poke?
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