Re: [cobalt-users] Alliance Of Operators

["Steve Werby" <steve-lists@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Mailing List" <listonly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> A while back someone had posted the idea of creating an alliance of
hosting
> providers and such to form a movement on the problems with SPAM and other
> problems we all seem to face everyday as providers.
>
> I am getting very tired myself of seeing the same domains and IP's trying
to
> port scan, send or sniff for access for SPAM and a number of other things
> and think that maybe he was onto something.
>
> A few on the list felt it was a waste because there are already groups in
> place and why reinvent the wheel. But my question is if they are out
there,
> why is it not effective??

Are you using said groups' data to block spam?  If not it won't be effective
for you at all.  If you are and it's not reducing spam as much as you'd
like, then you probably want to consider using in conjunction with other
mechanisms.  Also, blocking an IP simply because it was used once for
suspicious activity will be only so fruitful because the number of IPs that
are (and potentially are) being used for such activities is huge and the IPs
themselves are always changing since the suspicious activity originates from
open relays, spamhauses, misconfigured web forms, open proxies, dynamic
dialup IPs and owned boxes.  So while you end up blocking IPs belonging to a
future source of a potential scan or spam attack, you also block many, many
IPs that will no longer likely be a threat a short period in the future.
There are RBLs and other efforts that distinguish between the types of IPs
being blocked and  there are many opinions on their effectiveness, but IMO
blocking of the nature you describe will generate huge block lists with
limited effectiveness.

> Maybe the next group or that new group will be the
> one additional voice or the group with the right connections and words
will
> make a difference.

OK, maybe I misunderstood.  If you mean banding together and organizing to
put pressure on companies enabling much of the spam and port scans and
getting them to drop such customers, enforce their AUPs, and making your/our
voices heard then that's a different story entirely.

--
Steve Werby
President, Befriend Internet Services LLC
http://www.befriend.com/