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Internet Security: SPAM handling

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by the_integrator

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This is in response to an article about using DNS and RBL's to stop Junk email.

Sounds like another expensive and resource consuming gadget.
User education is propably preferable as although some maybe only slightly more inteligent than the machines, they can usually identify
dodgy email and bin it.
A combination of education and a lightweight filter mechanism would probably be more cost effective.

Andy

STOP JUNK E-MAIL WITH DNS
The United States and Europe both agree that junk e-mail is a serious threat to the Internet and that new protocols and methods must be developed to combat it. As antispam laws work their way through the governments of the world, research organizations and individuals continue to work on antispam methods that are compatible with the existing SMTP standard. At the moment, relay block lists (RBLs) are one of the more effective ways to stop spam.

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK > In this week's column, Jonathan Yarden discusses a proposal before the Anti Spam Research Group that uses DNS in a new way to stop junk e-mail.
Does this sound like an airtight proposal?
What do you think of Jon's suggestion to add RMX records to your DNS zone files now, in anticipation of this becoming an Internet standard?
Are you ready to go that far?
We want to hear from you!
Share your comments in our discussion forum:

Or send us an e-mail.
mailto:Enews6@cnet.com?subject=Internet%20Security

6 replies

by rkahler

It will be good if the US government ever contributes to solving the junk mail problem in a meaningful way, but until that happens (when pigs fly and doves are made of gumdrops), I'd like to see more pools of resources that list effective methodsfor stopping spam, and lists of good applications.
I've been looking around, but I find a lot of pieces of information rather than a comprehensive gathering of info. To be honest, I only look at the web and newsgroups and haven't bought any books. Sometimes, I find suggestions for good programs, but I don't have time to evaluate them all.
I'm not asking for some poor person to do all of this on thier own. If there are already good sources for dealing with junk mail, and infectedmail, I'd just like to see the sources listed together.

I guess that's all I have to say for now.

bob kahler

by vida

Professionally rated lists would help, although I wouldn?t have a clue as to who would fit the ?industry standard professionals? bill ? but I?m ready for anything after that stupid MemoryMeter.exe/TVTMD.exe B.S.
Not having time/resources to evaluate software myself, but needing to implement something in the wake of this daunting influx of annoying, if not debilitating, SPAM, Worm/Trojan/Virus and Spyware infiltration, I recently downloaded and ran SpyBot. I poured through some reviews, pros & cons ? and an article here at TR containing SpyBot in it?s list of suggested apps. I?m still nervous. Anyone have any horror stories to keep me up for the rest of the weekend on this method? I?m a solo IT, all-in-one, just make it run good/better/faster would ya!, employee. I could use any input.
I have a firewall ? Red Hat running Firestarter, and blocked a handful of ports that I?ve read are unnecessary and potentially dangerous ?holes?, but wonder if there is something terribly irresponsible in my action to implement this third-party freeware to assist with my current overload.

by rkahler

I'm in about the same situation as you are, Vida. I don't have anyone I can ask to spend time researching and building a test system to analyze the generally suggested programs.
I heard of the SpyBot program, but I still don't know anything about it. I hope somoeone speaks up for, or against it (and other programs), in this thread.

bob

by blaxand

Could anybody please explain 100% relable
way to determine senders' address from
junk e-mail? Every day i got a few messages
from addresses like that

31u9ta8z842u@info.sh
do9zjioak6vxn@ufo.net
1rkr1r1p1t5q7@nm.ru
kdnlqxetqlhy@mail.ru

Of course no one address is real, of course
my server' admin tell me "we are triyng of our best"
but still no resoults. I guess he (she) has just no enough qualification to do that work.
But i think all that is a very dangerous tendency.
There is at least one program (a-mail) admits to send e-mail with any back address but real.
What is possible to do here?
Any suggestion? TIA
-Igor Yefanow,
IT consultant
Turkmenistan

by vida

Yeah, there are lots of informed and experienced people that participate in discussions here, just not mine.
Feels like here at work - and I visit this site to alleviate some of that.
Well, I still have SpyBot running on my Win2k server over Terminal Services, through Citrix, behind a RedHat firewall - like little red riding hood...
I'll keep my experiences posted as I come across them. Right now I am (as with all IT admins) completely focused on security and keeping my network safe. Pretty scary, and not one other employee has a single idea of what I'm doing or going through... could be hell/could be heaven...

by michael g.

I introduced an installed solution to our organization 3 years ago now. As maintenance renewals draw high, we have just finished trials on a hosted solution and we will be moving to it shortly. It was like night and day between the two products. I will never venture down the installed solution road again.

What helped us. All those key decison makers with sway over budget dollars were aware of the man hours that went into maintaining an installed solution. It was eveident that if all they got was six to ten new spam items a day, we were doing our job. Some of these key people were getting upwards of 200 spam items a day. We were averaging 10 hours a week changing weighted values, entering new key word (with meta tag values etc ...) what a pain in the ass.

We maintained the vendors own database in a nightly update as well, and for which we paid a good deal each year.

Now for $1.30 a user/month (our user base) we have crossed over to a hosted solution that is making believers out of those who thought we were pissing away their money. Not only that, but the poo tech that I assigned my previous spam duties to is now available for more worthwhile projects like running ms vulnerability utilities.

I do not work for this vendor, but having this responsibility for our organization I would advocate a trial of their product, it's worth your time (and the time you'll get back)if you have a few hundred or more to support.

Key points per our trial. Setup your trial with those who will see the value of money spent in this fashion. We estimated $14K/annual for the time spent managing the installed solution outside renewal costs.

Also, set your firewall to restrict all smtp traffic to only the hosted vendor to circumvent all the spammers spiking all the MX records per your domain or going after least weighted values.

The hosted solution is called Postini

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