Anti Spam - SpamUnit

The spam industry may be growing, but so too is the number of people willing and able to fight back against spammers. In addition to the numerous companies that make commercial antispam solutions, there are some dedicated anti spam organisations who fight back against spam

Spamhaus is the key antispam organisation (www.spamhaus.org). World-famous, The Spamhaus Project was formed in England in 1998 by Steve Linford, a noted antispam campaigner. As well as raising awareness of antispam measures and the illegality of a lot of spam activities, it is responsible for maintaining three important antispam lists. The Spamhaus Block List is the first and most important. It is a list of known IPs used by spammers, and acts as a spam blacklist that is then used to keep firewalls updated. As well as this, they also run the Exploits Block List, another list of IP addresses, but different: rather than blocking just incoming mail, this also blocks some open spam proxies, worms, trojan horses and viruses from reaching the user’s mail server by providing a list of IPs that offer these things. Finally, the Policy Block List acts as a repository for IPs attempting to access SMTP mail (outgoing mail) servers without due authority. Usually restricted to dialup users, some IPs are only supposed to be able to send email outward through their on ISP; should they try to connect to another mail server, they could be trying to evade tracing while sending spam emails. This list helps server administrators block their access. ISPs and network administrators use these lists to protect their networks, in conjunction with other antispam software.

It also looks behind the IPs at where - and who - the spam comes from. It keeps a list of the world’s Top Tep Spammers, their activities and websites, and sometimes even photographs of the ringleaders.

Of course, Spamhaus has its detractors - perhaps drawn from that very list. One of the world’s top spammers allegedly contacted the organization by phone, pleading with them to stop ruining his “business.” More seriously, Spamhaus, and many other antispam organizations, are frequently the target of lawsuits by spammers who argue that Spamhaus restricts their access t trade and shares unwanted information about them. Spamhaus is yet to lose one of these lawsuits and, indeed, often does not even have to contest them. Many of the spammers are based outside the United Kingdom in jurisdictions that cannot legally touch Linford and his team. One court, a state court in north-eastern Illinois, actually found Spamhaus guilty for blacklisting a marketing company and awarded the plaintiff over USD$11m in damages. Needless to say, Spamhaus has no intention of paying up; it stopped contesting the lawsuit after establishing that the court had no jurisdiction over it. Its gutsy stance against bullying by spammers has won it admiration from many.

Indeed, for its brave work, Spamhaus has gained plaudits all over the world. The Register, famed UK IT website, frequently takes an editorial stance in favour of Spamhaus when reporting on antispam issues.

SpamCop.net (www.spamcop.net) is another important organisation in the fight against spam. Their main activity is the SpamCop Blocking List (SCBL), another type of DNS blacklist similar to that of Spamhaus. Like Spamhaus, this list is free to access, but is sometimes seen as more controversial due to its very open nature. Some IPs are shared, resulting in innocent people being blocked despite not having done anything. Nonetheless, SpamCop is very successful and keeps its list constantly updated. It’s free to use, but paying members gain priveleges such as customisation of their blacklist reports, and a removal of extra “nag” screens asking them to register. SpamCop.net has been running successfully since

Finally, in response to the number of “counter-antispam” lists set up by spammers looking to muddy the waters, Not Just Another Bogus List (www.njabl.org) is another DNS blacklist, and one that focuses on veracity. It not only lists dynamic IP pools used by spammers, but also open mail relays and spam proxy servers, allowing the public to block many of these multifaceted spam sources. In conjunction with Spamhaus, it is one of the more reputable antispam organisations but, again, some complain that they are on the list without justification. However, NJABL offers an FAQ page and contact information for those worried about having their IP on display.

There are also numerous legal pressure and interest groups seeking to have spam outlawed in their jurisdictions, but with most of the fight taking place online instead of in the courts, it’s organisations like Spamhaus who help keep many internet users spam-free. Indeed, Spamhaus also works in tandem with some law-making organisations, or offers public advice to governments, the European Union and EuroCAUCE - the European antispam bureau - in an attempt to bring antispam organizations to the forefront of internet life.