When I saw this thing hit I decided to modify the 404 script I'm running on my web server to log all Nimda attempts. I made a front end script that shows their ip and creates some whois links.
I then devote a few hours of my time in the evening to click these links and let the netblock owners know that the specific IP is infected. I would hope that people would keep the ball rolling and inform their downstream or shut them off.
In the multiple hundreds of emails that I have sent out, I have received 2 replies by real people. This tells me that nobody cares. No big surprise, its been proven again and again.
What was the point of this article? Other than a smattering of buzz words and the general feeling that we got to spend a few moments 'alone' with this fellow, what was the merit? I think it is blatantly obvious that software is in a bad state right now. Why beat a dead horse? I notice that he wasn't offering any solutions, just writing books about how bad it is...
I can't respect that. If he's going to criticize the masses that do their best for their employers and themselves, he should offer some alternative.
Sounds like he's a disgruntled programmer with coders block.
Perhaps YOU look up to Kevin Mitnick. Please don't include the rest of us in that crowd. The only thing I think about Mitnick is that HE is the reason I don't do the things that I know I could do.
I vote we make another model, a la Mitnick. This guy is as good as any.
I vote 1 year in jail and 7 years without a computer. That ought to twart most of the spammers out there.
It doesn't seem to me that the gentleman who made the game table and / or web site was begging for your comments. So he has javascript that keeps newbies from stealing his pictures and we all know the way around. For a large part of the population that javascript box scares them to death and they don't steal his pictures.
And so it was a woodworking project... That can't be interesting? There aren't different levels of technical ability?
geez, people. Give the guy a little slack. He had some initiative. He got something working. He was proud. That's all.
Sometimes everybody in the computer community reminds me of that guy on the simpsons that owns the comic book store....and what's worse is that most of these people are proud to be associated with that guy.:(
Ha! I do this all the time. I know, two wrongs don't make a right, but it makes me feel good.:-) I use my work phone. I'll usually call their machine, which it invariably is, and I'll leave the message stating my intent: I intend to call this number over and over again until I am tired of calling it due to the spam in my inbox. I do not tell them my address.
I don't know what ANI is though. Guess I better look that up.:-)
I agree. I use all sorts of methods to help the technically impaired through the technobabble (like the difference between an instant message and an email)...
So I think this an excellent idea. No wonder slashdotters didn't think so... cause I thought so. Why does it work that way?:)
And I agree that this is a good method for learning concepts. Check your standardized tests. They incorporate this sort of logic when they query, "Apples are to apple trees as blueberries are to what?"
Sure, it's not flawless logic, but I don't think the upper eschelon of logically thinking people is always our target audience. I've recently realized that when I talk techno babble at someone I do more harm than good if they don't know what I just said....not everyone reads./ :)
After having read this article and the posts regarding it I was troubled. What are we to do? Spam is a global problem that does not seem to have a solution. There is no single agency policing spam although measures are being taken to help curb it. Hotmail is prosecuting 8 spammers for forging email headers and Yahoo's policy is to prosecute as well.
The better part of the./ community knows how to track a spammer, or at least begin to collect data on them. There are tools of the trade that we are able to use to personally identify a spammer or a compromised box and report it to the authorities. Should a compromised box be shut down? Absolutely, in my opinion. It is the admin's responsiblity to ensure security. If they cannot do that properly, shut off the account. (Maybe this will lead to a heightened respect for the admin field.):)
What do we do?
I don't know about you, but I've decided to get involved. I'm tracking them. I'm legally collecting as much data as possible and turning the spammers in to the appropriate authorities. I'm not hacking or cracking, I'm using standard tools (tracroute, whois, host, etc).
Are you willing to get involved?
I maintain a web site and have database capabilities. If there is any interest in forming a community of professionals to combat spam I would be willing to use my available server space and bandwidth for that. If you're interested, let me know on my home page message board or by simply emailing me.
If you are not willing to get involved (I know how time contraints are) feel free to drop by and see if we are making any progress.
I have here in front of me a copy of the Address Information System Products Technical Guide which accompanies the 'Zip code' products available directly through the USPS. I see no copyrights on the information. Software development from this information is encouraged and helpful hints are included.
No, No, No, No, and NO. I chose the option to NOT send information to Real Networks. I don't want anyone to know anything about me. According to the news.com story, "The fact that RealNetworks gathers the information is not mentioned in the privacy policy posted on its Web site, the Times said, or the licensing agreement users must approve when installing RealJukebox. " This is clearly a violation of our right to privacy. And it says in the story that they don't store the information or sell it to any third parties... Being in the business of data, why, then, would they have these streams of data hitting their servers? I am off to uninstall all Real products. I can live without them. Then I'll run a search on class action suits.
I totally agree with jamming echelon every day. But I feel that we can't see the forest for the trees on this one. Who is the greatest threat to your security? Uncle Sam. Who do we pay to keep us secure? Uncle Sam. The problem is not echelon; The problem is our government. Do we remember taxation without representation? Is this not what this project is, in effect? I have written to my congressman in hopes of learning the official government position on project echelon. They claimed no knowlege. Whether or not this is their official position or not, I do not know. But the fact of the matter is that Uncle Sam does what it wants, whether the people consent or not. At the risk of sounding like an anarchist, which I don't consider myself to be, I feel that it is time to take down the government as we know it and bring in an entirely new chain of command. I want to see a government who answers my questions. That's not too much to ask. I pay their salaries, as do you. How do we change the status quo? With the internet. We have the attention of more voting age people than any other market, save television. The benefit of the internet is that we have people who want to interact. We have movers and shakers, with fewer of the couch potatoes. I say we find someone who will run for president and not be afraid to say, Hey, I'm just a person and I'm here to represent the majority of people, not my own interests. I vote down with Uncle Sam--down with echelon. But for now, I vote for None of the Above
Slashdot Mirror
Wow. You win the "Harshest retailiation on someone not invloved" award.
I'm not mormon, but I've never had one call me a name.
When I saw this thing hit I decided to modify the 404 script I'm running on my web server to log all Nimda attempts. I made a front end script that shows their ip and creates some whois links.
I then devote a few hours of my time in the evening to click these links and let the netblock owners know that the specific IP is infected. I would hope that people would keep the ball rolling and inform their downstream or shut them off.
In the multiple hundreds of emails that I have sent out, I have received 2 replies by real people. This tells me that nobody cares. No big surprise, its been proven again and again.
what are you doing to help?
on a windows machine:
press and hold the alt key
on the keypad, type 0153
release the alt key.
(TM)
What was the point of this article? Other than a smattering of buzz words and the general feeling that we got to spend a few moments 'alone' with this fellow, what was the merit? I think it is blatantly obvious that software is in a bad state right now. Why beat a dead horse? I notice that he wasn't offering any solutions, just writing books about how bad it is...
I can't respect that. If he's going to criticize the masses that do their best for their employers and themselves, he should offer some alternative.
Sounds like he's a disgruntled programmer with coders block.
Perhaps YOU look up to Kevin Mitnick. Please don't include the rest of us in that crowd. The only thing I think about Mitnick is that HE is the reason I don't do the things that I know I could do.
I vote we make another model, a la Mitnick. This guy is as good as any.
I vote 1 year in jail and 7 years without a computer. That ought to twart most of the spammers out there.
It doesn't seem to me that the gentleman who made the game table and / or web site was begging for your comments. So he has javascript that keeps newbies from stealing his pictures and we all know the way around. For a large part of the population that javascript box scares them to death and they don't steal his pictures.
...and what's worse is that most of these people are proud to be associated with that guy. :(
And so it was a woodworking project... That can't be interesting? There aren't different levels of technical ability?
geez, people. Give the guy a little slack. He had some initiative. He got something working. He was proud. That's all.
Sometimes everybody in the computer community reminds me of that guy on the simpsons that owns the comic book store.
Ha! I do this all the time. I know, two wrongs don't make a right, but it makes me feel good. :-) I use my work phone. I'll usually call their machine, which it invariably is, and I'll leave the message stating my intent: I intend to call this number over and over again until I am tired of calling it due to the spam in my inbox. I do not tell them my address.
:-)
I don't know what ANI is though. Guess I better look that up.
John
I agree. I use all sorts of methods to help the technically impaired through the technobabble (like the difference between an instant message and an email)...
:)
...not everyone reads ./
So I think this an excellent idea. No wonder slashdotters didn't think so... cause I thought so. Why does it work that way?
And I agree that this is a good method for learning concepts. Check your standardized tests. They incorporate this sort of logic when they query, "Apples are to apple trees as blueberries are to what?"
Sure, it's not flawless logic, but I don't think the upper eschelon of logically thinking people is always our target audience. I've recently realized that when I talk techno babble at someone I do more harm than good if they don't know what I just said.
:)
Yup.
I had hoped otherwise but the proof is in the actions.
Talk talk talk talk talk about it.
Beat it into the ground, that's the way to do it.
But don't bother acting or doing.
Just talk.
...I've not had a single person contact me...
big surprise.
why must I be right in my assumption of worldwide apathy?
After having read this article and the posts regarding it I was troubled. What are we to do? Spam is a global problem that does not seem to have a solution. There is no single agency policing spam although measures are being taken to help curb it. Hotmail is prosecuting 8 spammers for forging email headers and Yahoo's policy is to prosecute as well.
./ community knows how to track a spammer, or at least begin to collect data on them. There are tools of the trade that we are able to use to personally identify a spammer or a compromised box and report it to the authorities. Should a compromised box be shut down? Absolutely, in my opinion. It is the admin's responsiblity to ensure security. If they cannot do that properly, shut off the account. (Maybe this will lead to a heightened respect for the admin field.) :)
The better part of the
What do we do?
I don't know about you, but I've decided to get involved. I'm tracking them. I'm legally collecting as much data as possible and turning the spammers in to the appropriate authorities. I'm not hacking or cracking, I'm using standard tools (tracroute, whois, host, etc).
Are you willing to get involved?
I maintain a web site and have database capabilities. If there is any interest in forming a community of professionals to combat spam I would be willing to use my available server space and bandwidth for that. If you're interested, let me know on my home page message board or by simply emailing me.
If you are not willing to get involved (I know how time contraints are) feel free to drop by and see if we are making any progress.
at least he had the sense to include a name
This indicates maturity.
and he wasn't profane.
I have here in front of me a copy of the Address Information System Products Technical Guide which accompanies the 'Zip code' products available directly through the USPS. I see no copyrights on the information. Software development from this information is encouraged and helpful hints are included.
No, No, No, No, and NO. I chose the option to NOT send information to Real Networks. I don't want anyone to know anything about me. According to the news.com story,
"The fact that RealNetworks gathers the information is not mentioned in the privacy policy posted on its Web site, the Times said, or the licensing agreement users must approve when installing RealJukebox. "
This is clearly a violation of our right to privacy. And it says in the story that they don't store the information or sell it to any third parties... Being in the business of data, why, then, would they have these streams of data hitting their servers?
I am off to uninstall all Real products. I can live without them. Then I'll run a search on class action suits.
I totally agree with jamming echelon every day. But I feel that we can't see the forest for the trees on this one. Who is the greatest threat to your security? Uncle Sam. Who do we pay to keep us secure? Uncle Sam. The problem is not echelon; The problem is our government. Do we remember taxation without representation? Is this not what this project is, in effect? I have written to my congressman in hopes of learning the official government position on project echelon. They claimed no knowlege. Whether or not this is their official position or not, I do not know. But the fact of the matter is that Uncle Sam does what it wants, whether the people consent or not. At the risk of sounding like an anarchist, which I don't consider myself to be, I feel that it is time to take down the government as we know it and bring in an entirely new chain of command. I want to see a government who answers my questions. That's not too much to ask. I pay their salaries, as do you.
How do we change the status quo? With the internet. We have the attention of more voting age people than any other market, save television. The benefit of the internet is that we have people who want to interact. We have movers and shakers, with fewer of the couch potatoes. I say we find someone who will run for president and not be afraid to say, Hey, I'm just a person and I'm here to represent the majority of people, not my own interests. I vote down with Uncle Sam--down with echelon.
But for now, I vote for None of the Above