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Insanity!

For most of us real-world people, this scheme is pure insanity.

We are losing ground to the virus writers, THE MALWARE WRITERS, AND THE SPAMMERS. The reason is extremely simple - YOU are using the wrong model, shooting at the wrong target, fixated on a solution for the wrong problem.....(more?)

I just read your Zdnet piece. I found it interesting, but I think I can add a few verbs to the battle. The problem is that nobody takes the time to step-back from the "Problem" and look for real solutions.

In engineering, it is acknowledged that it is always better to stop a problem as soon as possible, and not have to fix up after it. "Fixing up" is what the current spam, malware, and virus model is focused on.

Maybe you can add your influence to a REAL solution to the spammer, malware, and virus problem (in one tight bundle). Here is my input to this issue:

Actually, ALL of the spam efforts (including the recent "canned spam" legislature AND Billy Gates' and Yahoo's money making email postage schemes) are aimed at the wrong target. It reminds me of a game that a friend delighted in playing with his dog. He would shine a laser pointer beam on the wall, and the dog would frantically try to catch it (I asked him not to torture the poor dog). The point, however, is the dog NEVER THOUGHT OF BITING THE HAND THAT WAS HOLDING THE POINTER!

You guys can try until the proverbial cold spell in Hades, and you will NEVER beat the spammers, malware writers, and virus writers. Virus writers have their own agenda, but the spammers and malware writers are just the beam on the wall. The hand that is holding the laser pointer (and paying the spammers and malware writers) are the unscrupulous advertisers who hope to get some responses to their advertisements.

DING! DING! DING! For spammers and malware, go after the advertisers! Look for embedded URLs, mailto: and phone numbers. The spammers can change their email addresses every-minute-on-the-minute, and change their subdomains almost as quickly. Changing registered domain names takes a little longer, but they have nothing invested in those arbitrary domain names, either. ON THE OTHER HAND, the advertisers NEED to keep their return URL (don't forget to catch the mailto: and phone numbers also) until they can get a return on their advertising (spamming) expenses. In other words, use the same model to develop "spam signatures" as the virus industry does.

But after the signatures are published, here is where the virus model hits the wall!

THE SIMPLE ANSWER: Quit depending upon the dumb end-users who are trying to (or not trying to) understand the problem. Stop the problems at the input side. Consider the web as a cloud, with stuff on the inside, which works pretty well as it is. The point of failure is the "input" doorways. These are (or should be) controlled by the ISPs and by a few of the "doorway" web switching vendors. Require the ISPs and doorway portal operators to filter for and BLOCK inbound spam, viruses, and malicious packets using frequently updated "signatures."

The current model just lets the stuff fly "into" the web, and then hopes that EVERY end-user will be able to detect and throw it away, after it arrives. This is INSANITY! In the meantime, the web is melting-down, with garbage traffic, and nobody in the industry seems to be concerned with stopping it at the sources.

When you remove the profit motive from spamming, the spammers will look for other ways to exploit the internet - but our spam problems will die out to just a trickle. The same solution will also stem the flow from script-kiddies and out-of-control worm propagation, and from unsuspecting "zombie" end-user computers. A few HI TECH virus writers may slip through, but the same model, being self-correcting, will stop the spread of it, as soon as it is identified - in hours ... not months or years, as it is now......

Will Harper, MCSE, MCT

Posted by: harperwill@...   Posted on: 02/06/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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