Archive for the 'Spam' Category

Spammers - Go away!

Published
by
Paul
on 15 October 2003
in Spam
. 0 Comments

The Ourhouse Weblog: Spam comments and the power of community

I’ve just started to suffer from Spam comments, the latest effort by these wretches to publicise their sites. They basically post fatuous comments to weblogs, with links to their sites. I’ve only had two or three of these so far, though it’s clear from other blogs that there is a rising tide.

As this abuse starts, the community of bloggers starts swapping notes and solutions are invented. Now some guy I’d not heard of called Jay Allen is building a plug in for MovableType (my chosen blog software) that will create a slick mini-database to trap and block such comments. There’s even a facility for trusted bloggers to collaborate to create blacklists and filters to block the spammers.

Great stuff, and an example of how a community with loose ties creates and protects itself from abusive elements - without the need to go to law.

Yep, yep and yep. As soon as possible this is going in. Spam is so annoying.

Spam Hijack

Published
by
Paul
on 14 July 2003
in ISP and Spam
. 0 Comments

BBC NEWS | Technology | Home PCs suffer porn hijack

More Spam stories from the Beeb.

“I set up my computer to enable a friend of mine to download a recording of his daughter and I forgot about it,” he told the BBC.

“I came back to the computer two weeks later and everything was running incredibly slowly.

“I had a closer look and found that it was running slowly because about 40 people were uploading and downloading pornography off my computer which I was unaware of,” he said.

This is a particularly vile act, even for spammers.

Looks like the spam stuff I’ve been working on is to be put back. While I’m partly glad of this, as I thought we needed more time to put together a product that users would want to use, I’m also disappointed.

I think ISPs should take more responsibility. Not for user’s PCs or for their behaviour but in educating and providing services to help users protect themselves. The more we can help, and help effectively the better.