fighting spam

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  • The last line of defense against spam

    Posted February 2, 2009 - 4:47 am

    Many organisations that implement an email anti-spam solution will apply a multi-layered approach. They will implement a system that includes content filtering, IP block lists, quarantine of suspected spam items, Bayesian detection, and other important features.

  • Filtering outgoing email in Exchange environments is important

    Posted January 23, 2009 - 7:01 am

    When planning an email security solution many organizations put a lot of thought and effort into protecting their environment from external threats. They use such measures as blocklists and content filtering to prevent spam from reaching end user mailboxes.

  • Is Canada a Spam Haven?

    Posted December 11, 2008 - 9:46 am

    The spammer that Facebook won a landmark $873 million settlement against last month operated out of Canada, leading to criticism of the country’s lax anti-spam regulations. They did attempt to address the problem of spam in 2004 when they formed the National Task Force on Spam.

  • How to decode Spam Headers

    Posted December 4, 2008 - 10:42 am

    Spammers know that they can be tracked through the “Received:” lines in the headers. Therefore, they often attempt to obfuscate the headers to confuse matters. Although “Received:” headers can also be forged, it is somewhat more difficult than simply forging the return address.

  • Researchers Hijack Storm Worm

    Posted November 11, 2008 - 4:18 am

    Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Berkley successfully infiltrated the Storm Worm to measure the conversion rate of spam. They found that it took only a single response from 12 million spams sent for spammers to reap huge profits.

  • U. S. Presidential Candidates’ State Spam Legislation

    Posted October 20, 2008 - 4:40 am

    Some or all provisions of some individual state laws may be preempted by the United States federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, including provisions regarding a private right of action. Although not part of any platforms with the upcoming United States election, how does each of the presidential candidates’ individual state fare with spam legislation?

  • Spam Goes Down To The Letter

    Posted October 13, 2008 - 6:51 am

    A new study by a University of Cambridge computer scientist revealed that the first letter of your email address makes a difference in how much spam you get. It found that addresses that start with “A” “M” or “S” get more than 40% spam while those starting with Q or Z get only about 20% spam.

  • Anatomy of a Spam Virus

    Posted October 13, 2008 - 5:47 am

    A botnet created by a trojan virus is sometimes referred to as SpamThru. According to the Don’t Bounce Spam organization, spammers have become very sophisticated in the way they manage their botnets , and the SpamThru Trojan is the leading example. In at least one case the botnet consisted of over 73,000 computers.

  • Spam Mistake Blamed for Lawsuit Dismissal

    Posted October 13, 2008 - 5:23 am

    John J. Moser, Of The Morning Call, reports a Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed a woman’s lawsuit. The suit claims East Penn Township, PA police used excessive force. The judge’s dismissla of the law suit said her attorney ignored a dismissal motion and the judge’s order to respond to it.

  • Malware Laden Spam on the Rise Again

    Posted October 13, 2008 - 5:18 am

    Security experts are reporting that malware laden spam is on the increase. The malware is either delivered via .zip or .rar attachments or by directing the recipient to a compromised website via a link. Another method rising in popularity is the embedding of malicious code into the source code of the message.

  • To Fight Back, Read What Spammers Read

    Posted October 3, 2008 - 9:47 am

    The Internet Engineering Task Force provides RFC2821, which is an excellent reference for understanding the details of email transport protocols. In order for email administrators to know what they are up against, in thwarting spammers, RFC2821 should “the” primer to ingest.

  • Bounty Hunters Look for Spammers

    Posted October 3, 2008 - 9:41 am

    A precedent has now been set in South Africa. Repeat spam offenders are now on notice. Spammers now have a price on their heads and their names on a Wall of Shame. It would be nice, if this was a sign of things to come for other countries to place bounties on spammers.

  • Best Spam Defense

    Posted October 3, 2008 - 9:37 am

    The best defense against spam is continuously educating the email user community. As administrators we may sometimes get a little too hung up on the technocratic methods of preventing spam. Although the technical details are important, our email users must be constantly reminded of their role to prevent spam. It’s an extremely important role.
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