Spam Now Accounts For 95% of All E-mail > 95% way too low!

95% way too low!

This is what makes SPAM Internet Terrorism. It is an attack on the economics of the internet to reduce associated productivity gains, usefulness, and technology advancement.

The perpetrators should be classified as enemy combatants and water-boarded one second for every SPAM sent.

--
Be a Good Netizen - Read, Know & Honor Your ISP Terms of Service
Comcast: »www.comcast.net/terms/index.jsp
Verizon: »onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/···0707.pdf

I have been saying this for years.
People want the spam problem to "go away" but it's not
going to go away. I've been laughed at, had my ideas called
stupid, impractical or outright foolish.
Let's see what comments come this time:

Idea 1: Authenticate/challenge.
Know those graphics characters you sometimes have to type
in when you post? They're all wavey, tilted and twisted to
keep computer software from recognizing them but they are
recognizable by a human being. Having to enter 4 or 5
numbers each time you want to send a message would be a bit
of an inconvenience, but I'm sure people would get used to
it in time, and it only takes a second or two.

Idea 2: Email Address Verification/Authenticate/Challenge.
Since most spam is sent from spoofed email addresses how
about something like this?

Receiving server to sending server:
I just got a message from "me@yourisp.com" do you have this
email address?
Sending server to receiving server:
If Reply = "NO"
Dump Message and all future messages from that address
for one calendar month. This cuts down on server requests.
This also gives the email address a chance to be used by
someone real instead of a spambot.
else
Deliver Message.
End If

Couple both ideas together and not only do you decrease the
overall amount of bandwidth used by the internet, it makes
it almost impossible for spam to get through since there
are two tests that have to be passed.

My third and most unpopular idea was to whitelist your
addressbook. Not in the addressbook? Message doesn't get
delivered.

--Deeply Shrouded & Quiet

I was told by our network people at my employer, that our spam filters dump about 95% of the e-mailing coming into our network, as it's defined as spam. It's gone before it gets into our e-mail boxes, or junk e-mail boxes. Obviously, some legitimate e-mail gets thrown out to. But this must be done, since our network, and our Exchange servers, can't support all this junk coming in.

reply to DeeplyShrouded
Well idea 1 definitely would not have any impact on SPAMMERS. SPAMMERS are operating/hosting their own relay/smtp servers on zombies.

First part of idea 2 (authentication) sounds like digital signature requirement. Which if implemented correctly could potentially have a huge impact.

Second part of idea 2 (relay to relay) address verification is already available in the smtp protocol, however since the receiving relay server is communicating with a SPAMMER operated system, probably a zombie, guess what the response is going to be.

Commend you for giving it some thought. Keep improving your email systems, SMTP protocol, relays and SPF, workings knowledge and maybe you will be the one to abolish SPAM some day.

The problem with address book white lists is that it does not actually prevent SPAM, just keeps it out of your inbox. Potentially wanted mail too.

--
Be a Good Netizen - Read, Know & Honor Your ISP Terms of Service
Comcast: »www.comcast.net/terms/index.jsp
Verizon: »onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/···0707.pdf