Spam & Internet Security

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Staying Safe While On-line

Dealing with Spam - Internet Security Issues

Dealing with Spam

Why Spam is a Problem

Spam — unsolicited (junk) email — has become a significant problem on the Internet. The sheer volume is enough to frustrate anyone. It is relatively easy to hit millions of addresses at a cost that is much higher for the target (you) than the spammer. Only a few suckers are needed to justify the outlay.

A message is Spam only if it is both Unsolicited and Bulk.

Unsolicited means that the Recipient has not granted verifiable permission for the message to be sent. Bulk means that the message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having substantively identical content.
spamhaus.org

Legislators have been reluctant to pass laws citing the potential value in advertising to business. Those that use spam are not somebody you want to do business with. Spam also costs billions to business (and you) in lost productivity. In short, you pay for spam!

CAN-SPAM Act Complicates Things

The United States passed the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 which preempted tougher state laws pending, notably in California. This made opt-out (where you have to tell the spammer to stop) the requirement rather than opt-in (where you have to give permission first). This has been called the "YOU-CAN-SPAM" act because it favours the spammer rather than protecting the recipient of spam.

“The U.S. CAN-SPAM Act merely outlaws the sending of spam with false or misleading sender information (and other specified conditions). That in no way makes the sending of ‘non-forged' spam OK.”
spamhaus.org

Avoid Setting Yourself Up for Spam

There are several tools and techniques to help reduce the amount of spam you receive.

Reducing Spam in Your In-Box

There are other techniques that require you use software that has special features.

Spam Inevitable

In spite of these precautions, sooner or later you are virtually certain to receive spam or block legitimate mail. The most likely victims will be any lists you are subscribed to. It is recommended that you include such lists in the section of the filtering software that keeps the addresses you don't want to be tested (known good addresses), often called white lists or friends lists.

Spammers Don't Play Nicely

Spammers play nasty. They forge addresses (i.e. don't use their own address) and may use yours without your knowing it (until you get a rash of complaints from those spammed with "your" address). There is little you can do about such events other than to report it to your ISP to let them know what is going on.

Open Relays

Open relays are mail servers that are known to have security weaknesses that allow arbitrarily-addressed mail to be forwarded without permission. This allows a spammer to forward a message to you without worrying that he'll be kicked off the server.

There have been several sites develop lists of these servers. They are often severely under funded and can be shut down for a variety of reasons. ORBZ is one such example that has been replaced with DSBL.

If you do decide to use the lists from one of these sites, be sure to understand the methods used to determine what is or is not legitimate mail. As in most efforts to fight spam, there is a balance between removing spam and stopping legitimate mail. The closer you get to removing all your spam, the more likely you are to remove mail you wanted to keep.

Other Anti-Spam Resources

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Internet Security Issues

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Updated: February 16, 2013