You Vill Obey! subject logo: UNIX
2007-12-28
Posted by: badanov

You gotta love Bell South and their new mail administrator.

Apparently, Bell South has a new one that is subscribed to a German anti-spam operation which is really effective in blocking spam.

Whenever I get around to writing anti-spam rules, I use IP blocks,usually which originate within ISPs who don't control outgoing bulk mail from Windows mail zombies and mis-configured Unix mail servers. Much more than that, such as content and mail header reads, and I catch mis-configured but otherwise legitimate mail servers my customers use.

Some mail administrators use blacklists which are online lists of IPs which may hold a mis-configured mail server which launches spam. Many of these lists exist. My mail server uses a couple of these, but all in all it is a losing fight. Unlike Google,I don't have a full time staff who writes anti-spam rules, so I must rely on good luck and what few IP blocks I can write.

But UCE Protect has a unique means of fighting spam. If your mail server is on the same network segment as a spammer, yet has never hosted or originated spam, your IP will be blacklisted unless you A) Leave your hosting provider,or B) There is no B.

It's a little like a policeman who tells a person at a traffic stop,I am ticketing you because, even though you haven't broken any laws, you are on the same highway as persons who have.

From their website:

We have very bad news for you: It seems you have chosen the wrong provider.

Your IP 69.60.116.64 was NOT part of a spamrun, but your provider seems to believe that spam is what the internet was made for.

By tolerating your provider doesn't care about spammers you are also supporting the global spam.

If all people would boycott spammerhaevens, spam-friendly providers wouldn't even exist.

Please send a compliant to your provider and request him to fix this problem immediatly.

Think about this: You pay him for, that you can use the internet without problems.

If he ignores your complaint or claims he can't do anything, you should consider to change your provider.

Don't accept to be fooled. If your provider really wants to stop spam he would install preventive measures.

Here I seem to have an anti spam operation which is so effective they don't sell this activity for a profit, but they hate spam so much they are willing to kill or curb operations of folks who do.

Well, Gawd Bless Volunteerism.

You gotta love the part about boycotts as well. My understanding of boycotts is that they are voluntary by those who choose not to do business with an offending entity.

Of course, boycotters don't say, for example, I am boycotting Walgreens because they carry birth control pills, but since they also carry sanitary female napkins, I will stop the sale of those everywhere else until Walgreens stop selling birth control pills, and not only that I will make everyone I can, by every possible means, go along with me whether they violate my agenda or not.

I call that socialism, a common affliction amongst some computer folks, some Zimbabweans, and some Cubans, but easily cured with a stiff dose of capitalism. And I hope they, along with UCE Protect, get a taste, soon.

If you have something to add, Fire Away!

Number of Comments so far: 0

Click here for a list of stories in the Unix and Computer category