A new email standard
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With all the problems happening (has anyone here NOT been spammed ?), is it time for a new email protocol ? I know it would be painful but the bottom lines is that it was never designed to cope with malicous users. I don't have a magic answer, this will take a lot of work but broadband takeup is being affected because of spam (and viruses in email). Answers to be written on the back of a bar of chocolate please :rolleyes: Elaine :rose: The tigress is here :-D
We already have all we need to stop spam. But as with a totally new protocol, ... Oh wait. :rolleyes: The problem with us programmers is, we want to start from scratch each time we think we need to improve our code or system. Any solution to a problem should meet the following conditions in order to be a viable one:
- It should solve the problem (you'd be surprised how many "solutions" actually solve some other problem than the one they were intended to solve)
- In a cost effective way
- It should not create new problems
- It should be easy to implement
What we need is probably an extension to the existing protocols, and not an entirely new one. This will let everyone remain compatible. We cannot ask everyone to just upgrade to new systems that use our new kickass protocols. It won't happen. No matter how good and effective the new system is. So we must extend the protocols to acheive what we want. That way, new systems can support the extensions, while still being compatible with the old ones. And then there is the challange response system, digital signatures, bayesian and other filters, and so on. I sent the chocolate, but if you only get the wrapper and no chocolate, blame Meg, not me. ;P Regards, Rohit Sinha Browsy
Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. - Mother Teresa
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What about finding the spammers, breaking their legs with iron bars and publicize it widely?
Silence Means Death Stand On Your Feet Inner Fear Your Worst Enemy
I'm not a viloent man, BUT I LIKE THIS IDEA!
"We have done so much in the last 2 years, and it doesn't happen by standing around with your finger in your ear, hoping everyone thinks that that's nice." - Donald Rumsfeld
Jason Henderson
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What about finding the spammers, breaking their legs with iron bars and publicize it widely?
Silence Means Death Stand On Your Feet Inner Fear Your Worst Enemy
KaЯl wrote: What about finding the spammers, breaking their legs with iron bars and publicize it widely? Glad to see I'm not the only barbarian around here. Don't forget to stick their heads on poles when you're done! Chistopher Duncan The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World Unite the Tribes: Ending Turf Wars for Career and Business Success
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Some CPians are going to reply that we already have all we need to stop spam. But as with a totally new protocol, it has to be adopted against an entrenched standard and habit. (the chocolate is on it's way. hope you like bournville.) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass South Africa Miszou wrote: I have read the entire internet. on how boring his day was. Crikey! ain't life grand?
Ooh! Good chocolate ! *Elaine jumps up and down with glee* The tigress is here :-D
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KaЯl wrote: What about finding the spammers, breaking their legs with iron bars and publicize it widely? Glad to see I'm not the only barbarian around here. Don't forget to stick their heads on poles when you're done! Chistopher Duncan The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World Unite the Tribes: Ending Turf Wars for Career and Business Success
Christopher Duncan wrote: Glad to see I'm not the only barbarian around here. :rolleyes: A little nothing is sometimes enough to make explode the varnish of civilization. Christopher Duncan wrote: Don't forget to stick their heads on poles when you're done! Let's keep them alive, so they could tell their story on talk-shows and serve as examples.
Silence Means Death Stand On Your Feet Inner Fear Your Worst Enemy
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With all the problems happening (has anyone here NOT been spammed ?), is it time for a new email protocol ? I know it would be painful but the bottom lines is that it was never designed to cope with malicous users. I don't have a magic answer, this will take a lot of work but broadband takeup is being affected because of spam (and viruses in email). Answers to be written on the back of a bar of chocolate please :rolleyes: Elaine :rose: The tigress is here :-D
Liqueur Chocolate would be more effective, I suspect! ;) Anna :rose: Two weeks tomorrow... Homepage | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work. Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Visual C++ Add-In
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KaЯl wrote: What about finding the spammers, breaking their legs with iron bars and publicize it widely? Glad to see I'm not the only barbarian around here. Don't forget to stick their heads on poles when you're done! Chistopher Duncan The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World Unite the Tribes: Ending Turf Wars for Career and Business Success
Shall I bring the pole? I've got two of them - complete with nasty looking pointy things on the end, and they're just gathering dust at the moment...:rolleyes: Anna :rose: Homepage | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work. Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Visual C++ Add-In
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With all the problems happening (has anyone here NOT been spammed ?), is it time for a new email protocol ? I know it would be painful but the bottom lines is that it was never designed to cope with malicous users. I don't have a magic answer, this will take a lot of work but broadband takeup is being affected because of spam (and viruses in email). Answers to be written on the back of a bar of chocolate please :rolleyes: Elaine :rose: The tigress is here :-D
Trollslayer wrote: With all the problems happening (has anyone here NOT been spammed ?), is it time for a new email protocol ? I'm not sure if anyone has to go that far. Ultimately, (and it's already happening) SMTP servers will be locked down and require authentication. They've made strides in locking them down so that relaying is not possible (sending out email through someone elses smtp server), but the next step is to have all smtp servers require user and pw authentication. Better anti-spam tools (and they are getting better) will make the number of emails ever seen by their intended recipients ever smaller. The anti-spam fight is a process, not a single technology. Just like any 'security'. Any good computer security expert will tell you that it's a process, not a product or single protocol. Paul
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I think the concept of signed/authenticated e-mail will work in this regard (e.g., PGP and the like.) It's just that to be effective, a critical mass of people would have to start using it. Signed e-mail would be helpful in eliminating spam because: :bob: If all the "legit" people sign their e-mail, then e-mail programs/servers could filter out unsigned e-mail. :bob: If you get a signed spam, it could be traced back to its origin and the sender or ISP responsible could be reprimanded. The only downfall to that would be anyone clever enough to forge a digital signature, but that would be pretty difficult, and beyond the scope of intelligence for anyone sending 1,000,000 e-mails about herbal viagra. If your nose runs and your feet smell, then you're built upside down.
The biggest hole in any 'pre-authorization' type scheme is that everyone at some time does receive WANTED unsolicited or unexpected email. So the question becomes, how do you let through email from someone with whom you've never previously contacted or made arrangements? I wrote my own painfully simple anti-spam tool (which needs to be tweaked) but does a pretty admirable job. Basically, it manages the email ON the smtp server- ie, no email is downloaded or touches my pc until my program has first looked at it. It shows me what messages are waiting on the server, and flags those that are known, automatically deletes those from addresses which are 'blocked', and flags the rest as 'unknown'. I can scan the subjects and senders and make my personal 'human' decision on each one and then in one click, delete everything that doesn't pass muster. IN addition, I keep a 'general' mailbox, plus a more tightly controlled 'business' mailbox AND a 'trash' email address. My 'business' mailbox doesn't go to anyone or anything that could result in spam. Ie, I don't do online purchases with that email, I use my 'trash' email for that. I never look at anything in the trash email- it just periodically gets deleted. Paul
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What about finding the spammers, breaking their legs with iron bars and publicize it widely?
Silence Means Death Stand On Your Feet Inner Fear Your Worst Enemy