AOL reports big spam decline
p2pnet.net News:- Troubled America Online says there’s been a more than 75% decline in spam on its service in 2004 – according to AOL users.
In November, 2003, “AOL averaged almost 11 million spam reports every day directly from members,” it says, but as of November 2004, “that figure has declined to about 2.2 million spam reports daily from members. The member spam reports are almost entirely sent using the popular ‘Report Spam’ button …”
The company also says in November 2003, the amount of spam being diverted to users’ Spam Folders averaged about 100 million per day but as of November, 2004, the number had dropped to 40 million.
AOL says the decline in daily spam emails, and the corresponding drop in email attempts to AOL members, is “likely” primarily due to improved technical antispam countermeasures, “as well as stepped-up enforcement actions undertaken by government authorities and by AOL under tougher Federal and state antispam laws – such as the new Federal CAN-SPAM law, which went into effect in January 2004”.
According to a recent UK finding, CAN-SPAM isn’t worth a light and the US is Number One as the World’s Worst Spammer.
===================
See:-
75% decline – America Online Announces Breakthroughs in Fight against Spam, AOL, December 27, 2004
isn’t worth a light – US: world’s worst spammer, p2pnet, December 27, 2004
December 28th, 2004 at 6:55 pm
Ummm, *when* are the US authorities going to actually do something about US spammers? The FBI implied that it was going to bust 50 of the worst spammers this year. Pity they didn’t specify which year they meant, because sure as hell it wasn’t 2004.
December 29th, 2004 at 6:32 am
Or, more likely, more isps have started to block standard ports used in SMTP.
Since lots of (windows) computers are compromised to function as open mail relays it is simple enough to block port 25 and stop the relays from functionning.
In any case, laws are not very effective when the individuals hide their identities as routine such as when sending spam.
However, if the advertised products in unsollicited bulk email would be liable for the spam, then it might be effective. Of course, you would also need to show a link between the spammer and spammed product, otherwise it might turn out to be a defacing scheme, and that might prove too difficult to implement.
The most realistic solution is probably to require that all mail senders be registered in dns records (as in Sender Policy Framework) AND hold them responsible for unsollicited bulk email if they do not put a stop to it when it is reported.
One way to hold them responsible could be to sue them in courts (costly, lengthy and not very practical).
Or to ban the offending servers on a public list. Then everyone blocks those servers.
No more spam.