In
this article we discuss who is championing
our anti-spam cause.
Ever wonder why Superman doesn’t
make public appearances anymore?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we
could find a champion for the Anti-Spam
cause? Although, it seems that little
has been done in the realm of stopping
spam, there are some emerging champions
of our cause that we can rally to
(and hopefully push along). In this
part of our series on spam, we will
be discussing these would-be-heroes
and what they are doing to eliminate
spam. And when we are done you’ll
have a better idea of what is being
done, what’s more what is
still to do.
December 11 2003, it is a cool 49
degrees in Dulles, Virginia. The
sky is speckled with clouds while
leaves are gently rustled by slow
winds. This is a day to look up
at the sky and rejoice in the splendor
that we have been blessed with.
I am sure you have this day marked
on your calendar as well. On this
day, Jeremy Jaynes and Richard Rutowski
where charged with multiple counts
of falsifying or forging electronic
mail transmission information. If
convicted they face up to 20 years
in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Virginia has some of the strictest
anti-spam laws of any state, mostly
because it is home to the corporate
offices of AOL and several other
large ISPs. Seems like these two
individuals picked the wrong state
to spam from. At any rate, the legal
authorities in Virginia, especially
Attorney General Jerry Kilgore have
earned a special place in my heart
for their contribution in stopping
spam.
You know what really warms my heart?
It’s when dozens of volunteers
band together to help others during
and after some calamity. CAUCE
is just that, a conglomeration of
volunteers dedicated to helping
out other netizens affected by a
true tragedy, spam. Cauce stands
for Coalition Against Unsolicited
Commercial Email, with over 20,000
registered members Cauce is gaining
momentum in the war against SPAM.
Organization it the first step in
effective legislation, and this
group is definitely a vehicle that
we can use to help get us where
we want to be. If you get a chance,
drop by www.cauce.org and find out
what you could be doing to help.
Think how good it would feel to
sue, and win, against a spammer.
How great would it be to look into
the eyes of a spammer as the Judge
slammed his gavel, and the words
“I find for the Plaintiff”
echoed in an acoustically perfect
room. For you or I, this may remain
evermore just a feel good day dream,
but for the lawyers at Microsoft
it may soon be a reality. At the
end of last year, Microsoft filed
lawsuits in conjunction with the
New York Attorney General was well
as separately totally over 38 million
dollars. Microsoft one of the Computer
Industry’s leaders, is attacking
spam on multiple fronts. Their most
notable non-legislative contribution
is their CSRI, or Coordinated Spam
Reduction Initiative. Among other
things within this initiative, Microsoft
has gathered a consortium of large
ISPs otherwise known as ASTA (Anti-Spam
Technical Alliance). If anyone has
resources to go after spammers,
these guys will.
In previous articles we have talked
about identifying spammers and tracking
them down. So how do we report spam
abuse? The question of what to do
next will be answered in brief;
a more detailed description will
be put forward in an upcoming episode.
Most of the time your SPAM reporting
should be done through some sort
of agency, there are many of them,
and there is nothing wrong with
reporting to more than one. I have
found, however, that if you report
to http://www.abuse.net/ the spammers
get placed on a variety of lists
automatically. Keep in mind; the
easier it is to put a spammer in
a database, the easier it is for
them to get out. Spam
Cop is one place where you may
report
spam. In some cases, individuals
may want to seek legal measures
against a spammer. When this happens
it is a good idea to file a complaint
with the Federal Trade Commission
(https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01).
Click To Report
Spam to FTC. Make sure you read
the page before you fill out the
form. Filing a complaint with the
FTC is an important step if legal
action is going to be needed. When
taking these more severe actions
remember to be both accurate
and professional, anything
else discredits your claim.
Next time we will talk about the
impact of spam in the home.
Until then, remember to have fun
and take care.
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Blocking Software - Click Here
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