Spam Blocking Methods: Which is Best? **
In a recent post from Slashdot, ariehk writes "As of today, Osirusoft, distributer of the SPEWS and open relay blocklists, among others, is no longer operational. Servers using these lists (including the FTC) are currently rejecting ALL email. This shutdown seems to be in response to a several-week-long DDoS attack on Osirusoft, SPEWS and others, resulting in both sites being down. This has caused much discussion on n.a.n-a.e, including the suggestion that the attack is somehow related to the SoBig worm. The spammers must be hurting if they can devote these kinds of resources to attacking blacklists."
Ouch! If you were one of many companies using one of these blacklists, we feel your pain. Spam is, for many individual Internet users and businesses, high on the list of biggest annoyances these days. Consequently, a number of different methods have been developed to try to cut down on the amount of unsolicited advertising that reaches users' mailboxes. There are software programs to block spam at the ISP level, at the internal mail server, or at the client machine. The challenge is in determining exactly what mail is spam - probably the second most frequent spam-related annoyance is that of "false positives," when the filtering software filters out mail that you do want to receive.
Different software programs have different ways of doing this. Some flag key words in the subject line or content, while others rely on blacklists (or blocklists) that contain the IP addresses and/or domain names of suspected or verified spammers. Services such as SPEWS compile these lists and distribute them, saving admins the time and effort of putting together their own. However, one of the problems inherent in using a blacklist service is that it's vulnerable to attacks such as the one discussed above. Another is the fact that no one really knows exactly what criteria is used to build the lists, and innocent non-spammers end up getting blacklisted.
That's why we believe user-controlled spam filtering software, such as Sunbelt's iHateSpam, offers a better solution. You get all the same convenience and ease of use, without the problems and vulnerabilities. The Outlook/OE version of iHateSpam uses sophisticated analysis technology to determine whether a particular message is likely to be spam and quarantining those that come up suspicious. But mail sent by people who are in your address book will always get through - eliminating one of the most frustrating problems associated with spam filtering. The Server Edition is designed for Exchange/Active Directory and uses policy based filtering with parameters that you can fine tune. Why leave the decisions in someone else's hands when you can achieve better results using a robust spam busting software package that leaves you in control?
Here's what IHateSpam user Michael J. Stone has to say: "Honestly I was skeptical at first. I reluctantly uninstalled GFI Mail Essentials, which I was quite happy with at the time, and installed iHateSpam. I now see the ease with which individual users can control messages they want to receive, by just dragging and dropping. The reporting feature has also won me over. I can see which addresses are really getting hammered. Just wanted to let you know that I'm now a true believer!"
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)
Warm regards,
Stu
(email me with feedback: feedback@w2knews.com)
** taken from w2knews newsletter. Sun, 07 Sep 2003
In a recent post from Slashdot, ariehk writes "As of today, Osirusoft, distributer of the SPEWS and open relay blocklists, among others, is no longer operational. Servers using these lists (including the FTC) are currently rejecting ALL email. This shutdown seems to be in response to a several-week-long DDoS attack on Osirusoft, SPEWS and others, resulting in both sites being down. This has caused much discussion on n.a.n-a.e, including the suggestion that the attack is somehow related to the SoBig worm. The spammers must be hurting if they can devote these kinds of resources to attacking blacklists."
Ouch! If you were one of many companies using one of these blacklists, we feel your pain. Spam is, for many individual Internet users and businesses, high on the list of biggest annoyances these days. Consequently, a number of different methods have been developed to try to cut down on the amount of unsolicited advertising that reaches users' mailboxes. There are software programs to block spam at the ISP level, at the internal mail server, or at the client machine. The challenge is in determining exactly what mail is spam - probably the second most frequent spam-related annoyance is that of "false positives," when the filtering software filters out mail that you do want to receive.
Different software programs have different ways of doing this. Some flag key words in the subject line or content, while others rely on blacklists (or blocklists) that contain the IP addresses and/or domain names of suspected or verified spammers. Services such as SPEWS compile these lists and distribute them, saving admins the time and effort of putting together their own. However, one of the problems inherent in using a blacklist service is that it's vulnerable to attacks such as the one discussed above. Another is the fact that no one really knows exactly what criteria is used to build the lists, and innocent non-spammers end up getting blacklisted.
That's why we believe user-controlled spam filtering software, such as Sunbelt's iHateSpam, offers a better solution. You get all the same convenience and ease of use, without the problems and vulnerabilities. The Outlook/OE version of iHateSpam uses sophisticated analysis technology to determine whether a particular message is likely to be spam and quarantining those that come up suspicious. But mail sent by people who are in your address book will always get through - eliminating one of the most frustrating problems associated with spam filtering. The Server Edition is designed for Exchange/Active Directory and uses policy based filtering with parameters that you can fine tune. Why leave the decisions in someone else's hands when you can achieve better results using a robust spam busting software package that leaves you in control?
Here's what IHateSpam user Michael J. Stone has to say: "Honestly I was skeptical at first. I reluctantly uninstalled GFI Mail Essentials, which I was quite happy with at the time, and installed iHateSpam. I now see the ease with which individual users can control messages they want to receive, by just dragging and dropping. The reporting feature has also won me over. I can see which addresses are really getting hammered. Just wanted to let you know that I'm now a true believer!"
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)
Warm regards,
Stu
(email me with feedback: feedback@w2knews.com)
** taken from w2knews newsletter. Sun, 07 Sep 2003
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