-----Original Message-----
From: Henry Barker [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 1:26 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: FW: 60,450 porn domains unblocked since 12/14/2001!
> It is possible that some people are not aware of
> the import of this information.
True, they may not have read my email to this list of 12/18; a copy of
that email is attached.
> It might be helpful to indicate what this loss of domains may mean.
If the squidGuard list is your only blacklist source, and you have
updated your blacklists in the last couple of weeks, then your users
today have access to over 60,000 porn sites that were blocked to them a
month ago.
> Is this a good or a bad thing?
It depends on your reasons for running squidGuard.
If your primary reason for running squidGuard is to comply with mandated
filtering requirements, the requirements may be ambiguous enough to
make it a non-issue for you.
But if you are running squidGuard with the hope that you can guard and
protect our precious children, then this is about as bad as it gets.
> Does less domains mean less filtering or does it mean less cruft in
> the lists (i.e., due to domains that are no longer out there)?
Here's a link to about 9,300 of the domains that were dropped from the
list; you might want to check a few at random and draw you own opinion:
http://mysite.directlink.net/matthews/dropped.txt
or
http://mysite.directlink.net/matthews/dropped.zip
(dropped.txt = 155K, dropped.zip = 40k)
> Does it mean that relying on the squidGuard lists
> alone is not a prudent decision?
Again, I think it depends on your objectives.
> Perhaps a little bit of clarification about the
> meaning of the glaring discrepancy between the
> lists will help list members understand the
> significance of the change and promote further
> discussion.
The blacklists from the squidGuard site are very unreliable. They went
over a month without any updates last fall, and I don't think they've
been updated in the last couple of weeks. This is the second time in the
past 12 months that the size of the blacklists has been reduced by 50%
or so.
I've reported these major issues to the address listed on the squidGuard
site (a couple of times) and I've received no response.
If I was in the business of distributing hammers, I'd want to make sure
that my users always had a ready supply of nails. If was also the only
major supplier of nails, why in the world would I let myself get a
reputation for having an inconsistent production schedule and second
class nails?
I've suggested that a user group approach the author about taking over
the operation of the robot. I've offered to pay a reasonable price for a
subscription to a first class blacklist.
> In addition, I have seen some threads about alternate sources
> for lists. If the loss of 60,000 entries is a bad thing, then
> it would also be handy for members to indicate where they get
> alternate lists from (if any).
Yes, I've previously posted that information here.
Thanks for your interest.
Rick
--- Begin Message ---
If you are relying solely on the squidGuard.org blacklist for your porn
database you might want to read this carefully.
9,329 porn domains were deleted from the squidGuard.org blacklist,
comparing the 12/12 version with the 12/14 version. A complete list of
the deleted porn domains is available here:
http://mysite.directlink.net/matthews/dropped.txt
or
http://mysite.directlink.net/matthews/dropped.zip
(dropped.txt = 155K, dropped.zip = 40k)
Please take a look at the list. Check a few of the sites and see if you
have them blocked. If they are not blocked, visit the site to see if you
think they should be blocked.
This is the second time in the last 6 months or so that a very large
number of porn domains has been removed from the list.
Who is running the robot and producing the squidGuard.org blacklist? Do
they have an hidden agenda here? As the usage of squidGuard grows I'm
sure there are porn site owners who would pay to be removed from block
lists.
This just doesn't look right.
Fortunately, after the last group disappeared I started combining 2
lists to create my porn database, and most of the dropped domains that
I've checked are on the 2nd list, and therefore still in my db.
Any thoughts or comments?
Rick Matthews
--- End Message ---
