oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| Nothing with spam will be fixed...
...until you can hold those who are hiring the spammers liable. If ABC Company hires a spammer and they violate the can spam act, ABC Company should also be held liable.
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WAR HAS NEVER SOLVED ANYTHING, except ending slavery, facism, communism, Nazism.... |
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vpoko
Premium
join:2003-07-03
Jamaica Plain, MA | I favor a technological solution instead of a legal one. Email's open nature makes it vulnerable, that has to change. |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| There is no technological solution. For every solution there is a work around. The only thing that can stop them is costing them money. You may not be able to get the spammers and they are good at hiding, but those hiring them and hocking their wares are for the most part easy to find...and ultimately fine.
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WAR HAS NEVER SOLVED ANYTHING, except ending slavery, facism, communism, Nazism.... |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| There might not be a technological solution that is 100%, but I think that Bayesian-style filters are very effective. As more people employ Bayesian filters, less spammer messages get through. This means that the spammers need to modify their messages to get them through (e.g. "Viagra" becomes "\/1Ag rA"). However, the filters will quickly pick up on these changes and block them too. And even if the spam gets through, the spammer's message gets more and more garbled. (e.g. A gullible user is much more likely to "Buy herbal Viagra now" than to "B uy h3rBa1 \/1Ag rA n0w".) As the spammer's messages become less effective, spam becomes less profitable and that will help drive spammers out of business.
This isn't to say that we should only rely on Bayesian filters. I think that no one approach alone will stop spam. However, if we combine multiple approaches (Bayesian filters, going after spammers and where possible the companies that hire them, etc) we should be able to stem the tide of Spam.
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-Jason Levine
My Gallery | Jason's Toolbox | PCQandA.com | URateit.com |
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vibe666
join:2002-11-19 | if I was a 1337 hAx0r I'd be much more inclined to B uy h3rBa1 \/1Ag rA n0w. 
(sorry, couldn't resist) |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| reply to Jason Levine
The problem is filters still require processing power. They're great for end users, but not for the ISPs who have to dedicate computing horsepower to filtering millions upon millions of messages.
If ISPs could go after those companies hiring the spammers, it could curtail a lot of the volume.
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WAR HAS NEVER SOLVED ANYTHING, except ending slavery, facism, communism, Nazism.... |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| The main problem I have with going after the companies hiring the spammers is that the relationship can be hard to prove. If someone is trying to sell Norton Anti-Virus via spam is he sanctioned by Symantec? Did he buy a bunch of copies and is trying to sell them off? Is he selling an illegal copy? Or, perhaps worst of all, is he selling a trojaned copy meant to turn the user's computer into a spam zombie and collect information on them?
How do you prove that the "Buy Norton Anti-Virus now" message was actually at the behest of Symantec?
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-Jason Levine
My Gallery | Jason's Toolbox | PCQandA.com | URateit.com |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| It would be whoever benefits. You can't sell Norton AV without some contact information (otherwise how does someone buy). It's that contact person/company who would get hosed with fines.
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WAR HAS NEVER SOLVED ANYTHING, except ending slavery, facism, communism, Nazism.... |
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Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO
| reply to Jason Levine
There are not hard to find. Where the money goes is where the problem lies.
As a reseller, if I sell Norton Anti-Virus through spam, then that money is making its way to me, not Symantec. You don't pursue the product makers or the manufacturers unless they are the one's the money is going to.
Every single spam message has a webpage/ecommerce site you are hitting to purchase. Those are the ones that are hiring these people and those are the ones that should be fined and prosecuted.
Companies claiming they hired X marketing company and didnt know what they are doing are still responsible and so is the marketing company that hired the spammer. |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| said by Skippy25  :There are not hard to find. Where the money goes is where the problem lies. Exactly...follow the $$$.
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WAR HAS NEVER SOLVED ANYTHING, except ending slavery, facism, communism, Nazism.... |
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