Microsoft sues more alleged spammers

TalkBack 16 of 31:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

That's Not The Way It Works

If by "users" you mean the victims (intended recipients) of spam, that's not the way it works. Only the owner of the cert can use it to sign a message. You're probably thinking of the public key part of a digital signature?the thing that your mail app installs in its security file when you open a signed message. It's true that you have the cert "on file" as a means of recognizing future messages sent from that certificate's owner, but that's not the same thing as having a cert that YOU can use to sign a message you send.

You can't sign a message using somebody else's cert, so it wouldn't do the spambags any good to have their intended victims' certs. The way it works is that the spambags need to have their OWN certs, and their messages must be signed with those certs in order for the SMTP server to even send the message, or for the receiving server to accept it. Under the proposed system, the name and return/sending server address in the message header must match the name and address on the cert, or the message fails the server test.

It's true that a digital cert with PKCS encryption keys makes the public key half of the key pair available to everyone, but it doesn't do ne'er-do-wells any good to have it. All it can be used for is sending encrypted mail to its owner, who holds the private key.

The proposed solution has nothing to do with message encryption, although it would certainly go a long way toward securing the content of e-mail messages. It's simply a matter of identifying message senders who have a legitimate reason to send mail to any recipients. It's a system of accountability, something the current chaotic system lacks.

Posted by: native alien   Posted on: 12/02/04 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

• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now
• Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software VMware VMware virtualization enables customers to reduce their server TCO and ... Download Now
• Open Standards Technologies Provide the Ingredients for Delivering Security Across the Papa Gino's Enterprise Dell Papa Gino's Holdings Corporation founded by the entrepreneur operates one ... Download Now