The Spam Cryer

Dilbert – Our Spam Filter Has Become Self Aware?

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November 19th, 2008

Has it come to this? Do we need an anti-spam engine so powerful that it becomes self aware?

While it is nice that spam volume has declined some since McColo has been shut down there is still a lot of messages out there that are spam and a vacuum right now waiting to be filled by other spammers.

While there is a temporary lull in spam volume the underlying problem still remains. The SMTP protocol that we all rely on and both love and hate was originally designed when the Internet was a small well-run network and everyone knew everyone else or knew someone who knew them and could vouch for each new connection or request to relay mail for someone. Open Relay mail servers were the norm and not the exception. Today you can’t setup an open mail server and have it live on the internet for more than a few hours, some would say minutes, before a spammer has discovered it and is hammering away at it.

While there are some good techniques to supply message repudiation (SPF and Domain Keys) the use and deployment of them are not universal and they will not become universal until all e-mail administrator know and understand what you can and can’t do with these techniques and all mail servers use these tools out of the box or make it easy to understand and configure.

In my opinion all mail servers should be able to check Real Time Black lists, SPF records and verify Domain Key signatures – even the ‘basic’ and for free versions of products. Lets get the tools needed to combat spam into everyone’s hands and educate each other in the proper setup and use of these tools.

- The Spam Cryer

Entry Filed under: CudaMail, Online Scams, SonicWall, WatchGuard