TMDA Re: [Gllug] New worm doing the rounds?

[Jason Clifford]

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004, Rev Simon Rumble wrote:

> > While we're at it, can we rant about morons who use challenge/response
> > systems like TMDA?  Who are these idiots, deliberately increasing the
> > spam problem for the rest of the world just so that their inboxes can
> > (temporarily) seem a little cleaner?
> 
> People with less faith in human nature than you...  Some might call
> them "realists".
> 
> I happily predict that you, and everyone else, will have some form of
> challenge-response filter on your mail box in two years' time.

I happily predict most of us wont.

Challenge - response systems impose an unacceptable burden on senders of 
email.

I for one consider it the recipients loss if they will not accept email. 
The only circumstance under which I would thereafter seek further to 
communicate with such a person is if they owe me money in which case I'd 
simply move to paper based communications by moving to the next step in my 
collection proceedures.

> I can't see any other way.  Soon as I get some decent infrastructure
> in place, I'll be going that way myself.

Other ways include implementing anti-spam and anti-virus systems, 
use of meaningful aliases to subscribe to mailing lists, etc and supply 
details to suppliers so you can audit where a spam has come from etc.

How will challenge - response (which must be automated for it to be 
"workable") protect you from spammers who use temporary mail drops to 
handle the process?

We're all seeing spammers becoming more and more sophisticated in 
circumventing protection systems and this is an obvious and easy one for 
them to use as a means of beating your protection.

Jason Clifford
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