Spam Fightback

[eno]

The following link is to an article on the BBC website. This could prove distinctly useful.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4051553.stm

I think we should all D/load and use .

[Drastic]

YES LETS ALL FIGHT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ozzy72]

Brilliant Eno, I'm trying to download my copy now, I'm sick of Rolex/African money/viagra/penis enlargement/mortgage offers. Time to give 'em a taste of their own medicine (or the contents of a kidney dialysis machine)

[Saitek]

Well I'd like to in a way.. but my family wouldn't want it on and anyway the SS never has a chance to come on in our house...

[Scottler]

lol@Europe only...hehehe

[Politically Incorrect]

It would be nice seeing these spammers pay out the wazoo!
But think about this, by downloading and using that screensaver you are making Lycos a good bit of money afterall won't they be the ones recieving payment from the spammers?

So who is worse the spammers or the company "hiring" thousands of people to make them money?

I think to be fair Lycos and any other "Web Corps." that are asking for people to download something of this nature, to do this, should reimburse the people who are using this software, after all it will be you making more money for them and we all know you don't work for free

[Hagar]

I don't pretend to fully understand it but I can't see how Lycos is directly profiting by this. If I'm reading it correctly the idea is to bombard the sites supplying the stuff the spammers are advertising with requests for data.

Lycos hopes it will make the monthly bandwidth bills of spammers soar by keeping their servers running flat out.

The net firm estimates that if enough people sign up and download the tool, spammers could end up paying to send out terabytes of data.

The only thing that worries me is that the spammers will soon find a way to get their own back. Since AOL started blocking spam I haven't been getting much at all. As I used to get more spam than genuine mail I think this proves the existing methods are working.

[Scottler]

I think to be fair Lycos and any other "Web Corps." that are asking for people to download something of this nature, to do this, should reimburse the people who are using this software, after all it will be you making more money for them and we all know you don't work for free.

Its a free download.


(And LOL@me...it doesn't work in the US.)

[Jared]

Its a free download.


(And LOL@me...it doesn't work in the US.)

well, thanks for saving me the trouble.. ;-)

[ozzy72]

That could be because Lycos is an English firm. If you pick International English on the download option you should be able to get it Scott
Oh and maybe part of the problem is that 80% of the worlds spam originates in the US. The Empire Strikes Back?

[Hagar]

Well, don't say I didn't tell you.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39175578,00.htm

Lycos anti-spam site hit by hackers

Munir Kotadia
ZDNet Australia
December 01, 2004, 09:05 GMT

The 'make love not spam' site has been taken down, possibly by a DDoS attack

Spammers are suspected of hacking into and downing Lycos's anti-spam Web site just hours after it went live. The Web site is currently inaccessible and could also be the victim of a DDoS attack.

Lycos on Tuesday kicked off its "make love not spam" campaign by offering users a screensaver that helps to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on spammers' Web sites. The company said the screensaver uses the idle processing power of a computer to slow down the response times from spammers' Web sites - much in the same way spammers use compromised PCs to distribute unsolicited email messages.

However, within hours of the makelovenotspam.com site being launched, the original front page was replaced with a simple message:

"Yes, attacking spammers is wrong. You know this, you shouldn't be doing it. Your IP address and request have been logged and will be reported to your ISP for further action."

Finnish antivirus firm F-Secure, which advised users not to participate in Lycos' campaign because of "possible legal problems", suspects the site has been hacked by a pro-spam group because "they definitely would have a motive to attack the site".

[Politically Incorrect]

it's a free download

I'm not as stupid as I look, I read about the program, some apparently didn't.

I can't see how Lycos is directly profiting by this.

You seem to mis-understand what I meant. I know it is a free download I read that, you guys apparently miss the part (and Hagar even quoted the exact paragraph) that I questioned.

Lycos hopes it will make the monthly bandwidth bills of spammers soar by keeping their servers running flat out.  

The net firm estimates that if enough people sign up and download the tool, spammers could end up paying to send out terabytes of data.

My point is whomever collects the money for Bandwidth bills, is the one making money off the people who run the "free download".
So if Lycos is the one reciving payments for bandwidth then you are making money for them.

lol@didn't think it was that difficult to understand


edit: (re: Hagars last post) I thought about the fact that also by using said screensaver that you yourself would be spamming the spammers in a way.so that really doesn't make you any different than them does it ?  ;)

[Hagar]

My point is whomever collects the money for Bandwidth bills, is the one making money off the people who run the "free download".
So if Lycos is the one reciving payments for bandwidth then you are making money for them.

I don't know much about Lycos but I think it's an ordinary ISP. I'm not sure they provide webhosting.

[quote]edit: (re: Hagars last post) I thought about the fact that also by using said screensaver that you yourself would be spamming the spammers in a way.so that really doesn't make you any different than them does it ?

[Politically Incorrect]

I don't know much about Lycos but I think it's an ordinary ISP. I'm not sure they provide webhosting.

Well that is where the confusion came from

"Webhosts" is who I'm refering too about the people making money off you I wasn't really meaning Lycos in general just whoever are the ones who collect money for bandwidth.

[Saitek]

That's a pitty. Is it easy to put back do you think?