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| Thread ID: 60006 | 2005-07-19 21:57:00 | Hit back at spammers | Greg (193) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 373519 | 2005-07-19 21:57:00 | What do you think? I like it. Story here (news.yahoo.com) |
Greg (193) | ||
| 373520 | 2005-07-20 02:57:00 | sounds good might give it a go | sambaird (47) | ||
| 373521 | 2005-07-21 18:19:00 | Just a C/P here: New Spam-Fighting Technique Criticized By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer Wed Jul 20, 9:40 PM ET Escalating the war on spam, a California company wants to let thousands of users collaborate to disable the Web sites spammers use to sell their wares. A leading anti-spam advocate, however, criticized Blue Security Inc.'s Blue Frog initiative as being no more than a denial-of-service attack, the technique hackers use to effectively shut down a Web site by overwhelming it with fake traffic. "It's the worst kind of vigilante approach," said John Levine, a board member with the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail. "Deliberate attacks against people's Web sites are illegal." Levine recalled a screen saver program that the Web portal Lycos Europe distributed briefly last year. The program was designed to overwhelm sites identified by Lycos as selling products pitched in spam. Eran Reshef, Blue Security's founder and chief executive, denied any wrongdoing, saying Blue Frog was merely empowering users to collectively make complaints they otherwise would have sent individually. Here's how the technique works: _When users add e-mail addresses to a "do-not-spam" list, Blue Security creates additional addresses, known as honeypots, designed to do nothing but attract spam. _If a honeypot receives spam, Blue Security tries to warn the spammer. Then it triggers the Blue Frog software on a user's computer to send a complaint automatically. _Thousands complaining at once will knock out a Web site and thus encourage spammers to stop sending e-mail to the "do-not-spam" list. Reshef acknowledges that the technique only works if enough users — say, 100,000 — join. The program is initially free, but Reshef said Blue Security might eventually charge new users. _Anick Jesdanun, AP Internet Writer |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 373522 | 2005-07-21 21:58:00 | Note that a DDoS attack can bring down an entire ISP--including legitimate sites that happen to use the same hosting service as a spammer's business . So um, lets consider the far reaching consequences of this concern . . . . Joes web hosting company knowingly hosts Harry Suck-Spammers site, and Joes ISP supplys a connection to Harry Suck-Spammers office servers . Joe doesnt give a rats about what Harry Suck is doing, after all Harry Suck does pay his bills on time . Things begin to change . Now Joe is finding that bursts of activity are starting to produce more traffic than Joes network can easily handle . Harry Suck is having difficulty paying for the bandwidth being used . Clients are complaining . Joe risks losing customers . Joe beefs up network capacity as much as possible, and adds a clause to his contract saying that any activity such as clients using Joes network to send illegal unsolicited email will no longer be able to be connected to Joes network . Harry Suck sends out another million emails selling penis extenders . Over the next few hours Joes network struggles to cope with the retalatory traffic produced, and Joes other customers again complain . Joe traces the overload to Harry Suck Joe attempts to contact Harry Suck and point out the new clause in the service contract . He tells Harry that if he pays his now overdue bills now, then Joe might be able to get more fibre laid to cope with Harrys traffic, but otherwise Joe will just have to tell Harry to go away and connect somewhere else . Harry Suck can't pay his enormous bills, Joe disconnects him and takes him to court for outstanding $$$ . Harry Suck is put out of business . . . Poor Harry! What mean software . . . :thumbs: O well how sad, nevermind . |
personthingy (1670) | ||
| 373523 | 2005-07-21 22:03:00 | Just a C/P here:Copy and pasting this sorta stuff is bad form, it's copyright material and you're not licenced to reproduce this. Besides all that this is for a start a stupid idea, and secondly not new - Lycos did the same thing almost a year ago: www.theregister.co.uk Old. News. |
ninja (1671) | ||
| 373524 | 2005-07-21 22:07:00 | OK..but I REALLY didn't want to type it all out again...oh well..flamed again! | SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 373525 | 2005-07-21 22:07:00 | So um, lets consider the far reaching consequences of this concern.... Lets consider another alternative. The hosting company employs someone that's not a dolt (possible) who writes a few lines of perl script to analyse the server logs. He automatically sends an e-mail to abuse@theispoftheidiotddosinghim.org.ru containing server logs of a DDoS attack coming from one of their clients. The ISP then either suspends or cancels the users account who was stupid enough to think that this software is a good idea in the first place. This is no different to loading up the cousins in the ute and going round to beat up the guy who knocked up your sister. Vigilante justice ain't going to solve dick. |
ninja (1671) | ||
| 373526 | 2005-07-21 22:14:00 | This is no different to loading up the cousins in the ute and going round to beat up the guy who knocked up your sister. Vigilante justice ain't going to solve dick. Plus it doesn't even attack that guy directly, but others like the ISP. It's a big call to assume an ISP is as culpable as the spammer it has as a customer and let's face it - the spammer can walk away and set up business somewhere else with minimal problems, while the ISP proably loses customers through any network outages caused. Anyhting that puts more useless bandwidth-hogging traffic on the net is a bad idea and DOS attacks are bit like nuclear missiles - start hurling them around and sooner or later someone will hurl one back. |
Biggles (121) | ||
| 373527 | 2005-07-21 22:17:00 | . He automatically sends an e-mail to abuse@theispoftheidiotddosinghim . org . ru containing server logs of a DDoS attack coming from one of their clients . Its not a DDos attack, although it may act like onein some ways, its a series of automated responces to unsolicited email . There is a BIG difference . | personthingy (1670) | ||
| 373528 | 2005-07-21 22:19:00 | Mr . B . B . : I agree that in a nice world, that what you say is 100% accurate, but we live in a world of revisionist values that say the gun maker is responsible for any deaths the gun might cause even in the hands of a crazed homacidal maniac . Fair isn't a password any more; we have all gravitated to litigationists and sad as it may be, it seems that drastic measures are what happens when morals are missing . Killing the patient to destroy the cancer seems to be the only way any more . Sad too . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
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