D&C Lug - Home Page
Devon & Cornwall Linux Users' Group

[ Date Index ][ Thread Index ]
[ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] sendmail rejects



On Sat, 2004-07-10 at 10:45, Simon Waters wrote:
SMTP Auth moves the restriction on email from trusted IP, to someone who
happens to know/guess/steal the password for a mail account.

Such as the kind of widespread screw-up Hotmail used to be prone to? ;)


I don't have a problem with the further deployment of SMTP Auth, it
needs to be done well, and I don't think most implementations are there
yet.

When I first became active on the Internet (I won't count a brief time
with Compuserve!) I had Demon Internet, and initially SMTP was used for
both incoming AND outgoing email.  IIRC back then authentication was
required both ways, so even in 1996 SMTP Auth was a viable proposition
for a large/medium sized ISP.  Then they moved to POP3 and SMTP and
dropped authentication on SMTP down to the standard IP restriction.

Almost all spam is sent using compromised PC's, which almost certainly
violates criminal statutes in all countries the spammer are likely to
live. In this country unauthorised access to computers carries a very
hefty maximum sentence.

Sadly not.  In the *Western* world granted you are correct.  However
from my experience of AUP Support, a large volume originates from the
Far East; Korea, Taiwan, China being the main culprits.  Given that it
is widely accepted (I'll not blindly say 'known') that the Chinese allow
people to take video cameras into cinemas in order to copy movies
(provided they are American movies) it would not surprise me in the
slightest if spamming the West, far from being illegal, was tacitly
encouraged in certain quarters.

Having said that I am reminded of the large volumes we were starting to
get from Mexico (it doesn't help when the TLD has the same letters as a
Mail Exchanger does it? ;)).  Also South America, Brazil being another
culprit growing in popularity.

Kind regards,

Julian


--
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the
message body to unsubscribe.



Lynx friendly