Erwin Hoffmann writes:
> >You're kidding, right?
> ==> Am I?
Apparently.
> qmail is by construction an open relay??
> ==> See RFC 2505.
qmail, when installed according to the instructions, is not an open
relay. Of the recommendations in RFC2505, qmail meets all but 8, 9,
10. By "qmail", I mean qmail and any associated programs supplied by
Dan Bernstein.
> And the reason not to be an open relay is because you'll be blocked
> because of the spam that (eventually) comes through your site.
> ==> Sorry, dont get the point.
Yes, spam can load an open relay. However, nobody with any sense has
an open relay. Why? Because you WILL be reported to ORBS and RSS,
and you WILL be blocked. It only takes one person to report the spam.
> Spam is itself not a serious load on anybody's MTA -- not even sendmail.
> ==> Looking in the Log-files tells me something different.
I've never seen a single system for which spam is a serious percentage
of the traffic. Perhaps there are peaks from time to time, but qmail
handles peaks very well.
> SPAM and the abuse of SMTP MTAs is a severe problem, because the QMAIL FAQ
> is not specific enough at that item. From SYSADMINs who use QMAIL (I am
> responsible for an environment with 5000 local users) I know, that making
> QMAIL SPAM-proof is not that easy.
Making *any* email system spam-proof is impossible. The best you can
do is cut down on the amount of spam by filtering on the source.
qmail has the tools required to do that (tcpserver and rblsmtpd).
It's simply not possible to eliminate spam in the long term by
filtering on any characteristics of the mail itself. I've been
getting spammed ever since spam first existed. Recently even *I* have
been fooled for a moment into thinking that the spam was a legitimate
piece of email. Over time, all spam will come to be like that. The
more you filter on content, the faster that time will come.
Ignore economics at your peril.
--
-russ nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://russnelson.com
Crynwr sells support for free software | PGPok | "Ask not what your country
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Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | do for you..." -Perry M.
