Spam is still growing--and costing

TalkBack 22 of 23:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Join the war effort

Spammers will be around as long as it is financially viable for them. It only takes a 0.01 percent response rate for them to turn a profit.

Spam filters are not the solution.

Spammers have systems in place that identify weaknesses in spam filters and they readjust their tactics within a matter of hours, while spam filter providers can only respond in days at best. Spammers poison filters to make good email trigger false positives causing companies to drop them in frustration.
And we all know the story of the unfortunate fellow with the last name "Cockburn" and the problems he has had.

Blacklists are not the solution.

Current blacklists are a waste of time since spammers change domains / IP addresses continually. Some idiotic blacklists have blocked entire ranges of IP addresses causing innocent Joe Individual, whose IP address is next-door neighbor to an adult content emailer to be flagged as spam, costing him time and money to get legitimate email through. Some blacklisters are even downright extortionists who have given blacklisting a bad name. This has led to companies abandoning them.

CanSpam is necessary - but only a partial solution.

CanSpam is only enforceable in the USA - and there will always be some countries that will allow nefarious schemes to operate from within their borders.

Nope - the war against spam can only be won by money - making it unprofitable:

1) Start a "DON?T OPEN ? JUST DELETE" campaign (low likelihood of success without a very big effort). Op-ed writers and columnists, TV journalists, advertising executives, comic strip artists, please take note!

2) Support the big guys who are going about implementing systems to identify the sender with SPF, Domain Keys etc. (How long will it take for spammers to fool these systems I wonder.) Will require a combined effort to draw up a list of "good" domains and IP addresses - no point in drawing up a "bad" list - spammers change domains hourly.

3) Make sure an ISP has strict rules in place before signing up with them and make sure that you abide by them. Keep your neighborhood clean!

4) WHITELIST using email history "credit check" companies and join consortiums of "good" domains/ IP addresses" that are already out there.

5) If all this fails, we may have to spend a little ourselves to reduce profits for the spammers ? i.e. pay for email in the way we pay for regular mail - with some kind of virtual tollgate system. The amount we would pay would be the threshold at which it becomes unprofitable for spammers - remember they are sending mailshots of MILLIONS of emails, so it won't take much. If handled correctly it could be a redistribution of money currently spent - on ISPs and email service providers, on spam filters etc, but undoubtedly it will cost us a bit extra.

Personally, I am willing to pay.

Spammers will kill email as a viable business and personal communication medium if we don't stop spam!

Join the war!

Most of all - DONT SPAM!

Posted by: G.A.L.   Posted on: 06/17/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Selecting the Right NAS Appliance for Your Workgroup LAN Dell Data storage is a major concern for enterprises today. Network attached ... Download Now
• Evaluating Price/Performance of VMware ESX Server on Dell PowerEdge Servers Dell This paper examines the price/performance advantage that enterprises can ... Download Now
• Drive Agility & Cost Optimization - NEW SOA and BPM Announcements from IBM IBM Drive Costs Down and Profit Margins Up! Every week, businesses ... Download Now