[AT] returned mail - PLEASE READ

[David Bruce]

Just to give an end user prospective to this, My ISP also does spam and 
virus filtering and on any given day about half of the emails I recieve 
are either spam or viruses.  I can only imagine the problems encountered 
at the ISP level in dealing with this menace.
The spam thing has really gotten a lot worse in the last two years and 
the methods for dealing with the problem affect all of us.  Just my 
.002$ worth.


Spencer Yost wrote:

>>either his server is not accepting mail or because of something
>>called "mail abuse.com".  Even mail I send to him with these things
>>as attachments are returned as undeliverable.
>>
> 
> 
> 
> To Cecil and a few others that have written about this:
> 
> Here is how mail works at ATIS.  Anything you send to ATIS goes through a
> SPAM filtering service at mail-abuse.com.  It doesn't matter how you
> address it, it goes through mail-abuse.com.  You can address it to the list
> or address it directly to me, it goes through the SPAM filtering service.
> Mail-abuse-com is the oldest and professionally the most widely respected
> SPAM service.   For those of you in the industry, you will remember them as
> the original developers of DNS/RBLs (DNS based real time black hole lists).
>   They are, to this day, the best by far.  
> 
> How does this affect you?   Mail-abuse clamps filters mail primarily based
> on the IP address of the sender.  If your IP address is a source of SPAM or
> has been reported as SPAM, it will be stopped.   However, because IP
> address assignments are dynamic, the block usually occurs to a group of
> addresses.  This means if mail-abuse.com is filtering your mail, one of the
> following is true:
> 
> 1 - Your local ISP(or local branch of a national ISP), has compromised
> servers and SPAM is being sent out from them and the ISP's mail servers
> have been added to the mail-abuse lists.
> 
> 2 - You are a source of SPAM.  This happens when your IP address or
> username/address at your ISP has been reported as a source of SPAM.
> Investigations have to prove you are a source of SPAM (they never clamp an
> address without an investigation) .
> 
> 3 - Your group of IP addresses has been blocked as a source of SPAM.  Whole
> blocks are usuallu done only WITH THE PERMISSION of your ISP.(this is why
> many AOL users couldn't send for about a day and a half last summer:
> AOL/Time Warner cooperated with mail-abuse to shut down a whole block of
> addresses until the problem accounts could be deactivated).
> 
> I am very sorry if this inconveniences anyone, but SPAM is a very real
> threat to system security and stability.    No one can operate in this day
> and time without SPAM filtering.  Regardless, all of this is usually only
> temporary.  As Cecil found out, he could send one day but could not the
> next day.   Then could send again the third day.  To give you an idea as to
> what I deal with, here is my SPAM filtering report for one of the larger
> domains I host.   This isn't even ATIS!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
>>DATE       Accepted Mail(%)       Rejected Spam(%)
>>--------------------------------------------------
>>1208           795( 36.02%)          1412( 63.98%)
>>1209           812( 29.92%)          1902( 70.08%)
>>1210           689( 30.64%)          1560( 69.36%)
>>1211           872( 36.95%)          1488( 63.05%)
>>1212           867( 32.02%)          1841( 67.98%)
>>1213           955( 34.08%)          1847( 65.92%)
>>1214          1045( 42.57%)          1410( 57.43%)
>>1215          1061( 40.57%)          1554( 59.43%)
>>1216          1108( 37.95%)          1812( 62.05%)
>>1217          1331( 34.46%)          2531( 65.54%)
> 
> 
> As you can see, without SPAM filtering, I am sunk - mail levels would
> nearly triple and complaints would increase 10 fold from customers.
> Anyone with the same domain same for 10+ years or the same email address
> for 10+ years knows exactly what I am talking about.  Bottom line is the
> servers get swamped and I can't operate.
> 
> PS:   The 1331 message that got through ?   About half are still SPAM
> according to the user at the company that owns the domain.
> 
> Spencer Yost
> Owner, ATIS
> Plow the Net!
> http://www.atis.net
> 
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