They are already off on the wrong foot - making a very common and oft-quoted error <quote> However, with the worst spammers located offshore </quote>
Anyone who has been active in the technological effort to fight spam, knows that over 90% of spam and junk email originates with somewhere around 200-250 spammers, all of whom are located in the US. A number of techniques are used to obfuscate the origin of spam, one of the more popular is to relay through unsecured mail servers (open relay/open proxy) all around the globe. A second one is to set up a bank of computers that continuously scan IP numbers to locate an open proxy and dump a queue of spam and then move on. A third one is taking the advantage of "always on" or broadband connections and otherwise unsecured computers that will receive a virus/Trojan that will install a relay proxy on the computer and then start pumping spam through them. Once they are discovered and secured, the spammer has long since moved on. There will be little accomplished in the war against spam, until and unless the service providers clamp down and aggressively enforce their own Terms of service and/or Acceptable Use Policies. The formation of one more "partnership" will only add to the confusing glut of "solutions" that are not solutions at all, but additional fog on the landscape. While the Direct Marketing Association has come out against just about every effort to stop or at least slow the spew of unwanted junk email, it is usually not legitimate marketers that are the problem. They are, however, caught up in the fight. Remember, the byword is that it is about ConSent, and not ConTent! Just my .02 worth. ====================================== Stop spam on your domain, use our gateway! For hosting solutions http://www.clickdoug.com ISP rated: http://www.forta.com/cf/isp/isp.cfm?isp_id=772 ====================================== If you are not satisfied with my service, my job isn't done! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 11:37 AM Subject: Re: Call for Business Partners in the Fight Against Spam | I know one of the people here (Miki Saxon), other than that I have no | connection to this project. Thought it might be of interest to someone | on this list. | - Michael Smith, TeraTech, Inc http://www.teratech.com/ | | Miki Saxon wrote: | | > Hi Michael, I know you're a member of some good business listservs and | > I was wondering if you could post this and another one I'll send next. | > | > Thanks! | > Miki | > =================================== | > This e-mail is a call for partners by Chris Rettstatt, founder of | > Kidfu (New York Times http://kidfu.com/aboutus/31safe.html), Nick | > Mikhailovsky, President, NTR Labs (http:www.ntrlab.com) and Miki | > Saxon, founder RampUp Solutions (http://www.RampUpSolutions.com) to | > help launch a new anti-spam product. Please read on. | > | > Spam is many things to many people, but above all spam is expensive. | > According to market researcher Ferris Research, the current annual | > cost of spam is $8.9 billion to U.S. corporations, $2.5 billion to | > European businesses and $500 million to U.S. and European service | > providers. | > | > The proliferation of junk email is increasing exponentially. In March | > 2002, Internet researcher Jupiter Media Metrix estimated that | > consumers would receive about 206 billion junk emailings in 2006an | > average of 1,400 per person, doubling the current estimate of 700 per | > person. | > | > In the US, both the Federal and state governments are stepping into | > the fray. Virginia Governor Mark Warner has agreed to sign legislation | > that will make spam a felony. However, with the worst spammers located | > offshore in countries that don't support these laws and without | > extradition treaties, US laws are relatively useless. | > | > While software experts agree that there is no silver bullet that will | > actually stop spam, there is a major push for innovative weapons in | > what has become a war on spam and those who send it. | > | > To date there are seven main weapons in the anti-spam arsenal: | > | > 1. Filters sort, block and file email based on input from the user. | > Spammers are adept at circumventing filters. | > | > 2. Block Email Addresses blocks known spammer addresses. Spammers | > can easily shift to their own servers or the open mail relay system | > and counterfeited their addresses. | > | > 3. Blacklists The major ISPs recently set up systems that block | > known spammers and sponsored user contests to build the lists more | > rapidly. However, many legitimate double opt-in lists were added, | > accidentally causing people to miss expected ezines and requested | > information. | > | > 4. Laws Many politicians in Congress and the state legislators are | > talking about various types of legislation the effects of which are | > doubtful. | > | > 5. Paid Emails Various schemes abound to charge for sending email | > (as does the USPS), especially unsolicited spam, but they are unlikely | > to affect the worst offenders. | > | > 6. Challenge/Response A fairly new approach that forces the sender | > to respond to a return email, thus proving that s/he is human and not | > a spam robot. (Earthlink has recently offered it to their | > subscribers.) However, since the challenge system would also remove | > legitimate push services (listservs, ezines, retailers, job boards, | > etc.) it could be a cure that is more lethal than the illness. | > | > 7. Bayesian Filters Software programs that scan all incoming email | > and compare it to known databases of spam. Although many experts see | > this as a major weapon in the spam wars, in all likelihood the | > spammers' ability to innovate will quickly minimize its value. | > | > Most of these efforts are post spam, but a new mindset is leading the | > most innovative spam warriors to go after spammers where they are the | > most sensitivetheir wallets. | > | > This is where we come in. A small group of technology professionals is | > launching a new anti-spam product that promises to increase the cost | > of spamming and to provide a new level of protection for e-mail | > addresses. We are interested in finding a couple of partners with the | > right contacts and experience to help us with the launch. The primary | > investment is time, and the reward is a substantial piece of the pie. | > | > Feel free to forward this message to other qualified people. If you or | > they are interested, please send a resume or professional bio and | > include responses to the following questions. | > | > Do you have exec level contacts (C and up) at: | > | > Fortune 500? | > Provide examples: | > | > ISPs? | > Provide examples: | > | > Firewall/security companies? | > Provide examples | > | > Server mfg? | > Provide examples | > | > How experienced/familiar are you with the following markets | > Anti-spam | > Security | > Server | > | > Is your background | > Marketing | > Biz Dev | > Sales | > Other (please tell us) | > | > Do you have experience foraging development partnerships? At what $$ | > level? | > | > What turns you on abut this opportunity? | > | > How much time will you have to invest in the project in the next 3 | > months? | > The next 6 months? | > The next 12 months? | > | > *RESPOND DIRECTLY TO [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > | > -- | > Chris Rettstatt | > Co-Founder and CEO | > KidFu: "The Way of the Kid" | > [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > 773.456.5569 | > -- | > Read about us in the New York Times | > http://kidfu.com/aboutus/31safe.html | > | > -- | > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | > Miki Saxon | > 866.265.7267 | > [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > | > Be sure to read ASK MIKI, The Manager's Mentor, Tuesday and Friday | > online at http://www.oaklandtribune.com/managersmentor and send her | > your questions. | > | > Chat live with the experts every Wednesday evening at 6 PM Pacific | > Time at http://www.rampupsolutions.com/talkback/index.cfm | > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | > RampUp Solutions Inc. | > Retention pays! | > http://www.RampUpSolutions.com | > | | -- | Vote for TeraTech in the CFDJ awards: | http://www.teratech.com/vote.cfm | | TeraTech voted Best Consulting Service, 2002! | | Michael Smith, TeraTech, Inc | 12221 Parklawn Dr Ste 200, Rockville MD 20852-1711 | CF , VB, SQL, Math programming | Voice: +1-301-881-1440 x110, 800-447-9120 Fax:301-881-3586 | Web: http://www.teratech.com/sig/ | Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 66057682 | | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
