Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Fri, 20 Oct 2006 22:27:33 +0200
From:      Erik Norgaard <norgaard@daemonsecurity.com>
To:        Ted Mittelstaedt <tedm@toybox.placo.com>
Cc:        Beech Rintoul <freebsd@alaskaparadise.com>, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Non English Spam
Message-ID:  <45393135.6070907@daemonsecurity.com>
In-Reply-To: <003401c6f419$4d2dba40$3c01a8c0@coolf89ea26645>
References:  <200610131712.46822.freebsd@alaskaparadise.com><4530DA30.7060004@locolomo.org><001c01c6eff4$f77cd590$3c01a8c0@coolf89ea26645><453211C9.8030102@locolomo.org><000001c6f1c1$c55e46b0$3c01a8c0@coolf89ea26645> <4534A0D8.2070909@locolomo.org> <003401c6f419$4d2dba40$3c01a8c0@coolf89ea26645>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
This is a cryptographically signed message in MIME format.

--------------ms010802010100000703060209
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:

>> Also this means that later filtering on the first Received field is
>> double work: You already accepted the mail based on that information.
>>
>> In short: Writing header filtering rules for the Received field is
>> simply waste of time and proof of inefficiency.
> 
> I agree with this but unfortunately the real world often screws this up.
> 
> For example, SpamCop is one of the most effective blacklists on the
> Internet because of it's high user participation.  Unfortunately, it
> repeatedly blocks yahoomail, craigslist, and ebay because spammers
> hate it and try to stuff it up so as to get people to stop using it.

You can't check the white list before using RBL in Sendmail? Well, you 
can with postfix, you can even control if checks should be done when the 
entire envelope is received or when the connection is established. Maybe 
postfix isn't that crappy after all :)

Of course, maintaining white lists is only practically possible for a 
limited number of hosts.

>> OP requested a way to filter away the spam in foreign character sets
>> because for some reason these were not caught by Spam Assassin or
>> procmail. I gave a solution that solves that problem, and I mentioned
>> the problem of false negatives for this list.
>>
>> Rather than get pissed, do try to offer an alternative solution to a
>> real problem.
> 
> There really is no solution.  Fundamentally, well written spam is
> not distinguishable from non-spam by a computer.  What has saved our asses
> so
> far is that there's not a spammer alive who has been able to resist the
> temptation
> to use bold, colors, blinking test, hot phrases, and other attention-getting
> devices in their spams.  Since you can program a computer to look for the
> attention getting stuff, what has happened is a little social engineering.

True - or the reverse, that novice users will send their birthday
invitation with flags and colors etc so you can't naively reject html mail.

> Frankly, I think there is no technical solution, I think there are only
> political solutions.  We've already made spam illegal in the US, and
> the CAN-SPAM act defines the "advertised" party in the spams
> also as a spammer, in addition to the actual spammer sending the
> stuff.

Actually, I do think there is a technical solution, but the problem is
that the cost of implementation is at the senders end, and the cost of
spam is at recipients end.

The political action needed is to move the cost onto the senders end - 
I'm not talking about adding a cost for sending individual mails but 
moving liability: You are responsible for what you send.

Basically, it's like for cars: You have an insurance for your car, even 
if a thief steals it your insurance covers accidents that the car may be 
involved in.

Once liability moves to the source, anyone upstream in the the mail 
delivery will make sure that they can pass on liability to someone 
further up, and if they can't, they will implement the controls to limit 
illicit mailing to reduce the risk.

>> I asked politely if there were any consensus or best practices etc. on
>> this issue. You have the regular mail on "how to get the best results"
>> there are recommendations on how to use this list, they are not enforced
>> but only serve as guidelines.
>>
>> I don't try to force people to use particular character sets, I merely
>> ask whether such recommendation exist for "the best results when using
>> the list", in which case filtering on charsets may be the least
>> imperfect solution (until you share your perfect filter, that is).
> 
> Your continuing to try to muddy the issue by inferring that personal
> filters are the same as requirements to post.

No, my idea is that if there is consensus that subscribers should post 
in say ASCII for the best results, then one could more reasonably filter 
other character sets because these are unlikely to occur. And, since 
foreign character sets are associated with language, other subscribers 
sharing language could take care of that off list - just as if someone 
writes in a foreign language.

> You snipped all my explanation of what the differences are and responded
> with a snotty request for a perfect filter, when I never said I ever had
> one.

I snipped, not to be rude, but because I felt you were getting emotional.

> As I already stated, what people do on their own mailserver is their
> business.  If they want to filter Asian charsets, then fine.  Go ahead.
> But, telling people they can't use them when posting to the list is
> crossing the line.
> 
> Certainly a "best results when using the list" document is a good thing.
> But, that is a recommendation, not a requirement.  The response that
> got me pissed was speculating that the list server should filter on Asian
> charsets,
> and we should order, not recommend, to
> people that they don't use Asian charsets.  I'm glad to see your
> backwatering from that.

I never intended to imply that the FreeBSD list server should filter
messages more than is done now. If you would go back to my first post I ask:

"What is the recommended policy here? Should subscribers be advised to
change character set when posting to the list?"

There is nothing here that implies that I want to the FreeBSD server to 
filter, nor that I want to prohibit postings in other character sets.

Rather I wanted to ask if charsets was or should be on the "best 
results" recommendation as in "you will possibly get a higher response 
rate by posting in English using US-ASCII or western European character 
sets". If so, then one can also better justify filtering on character 
sets even though some legitimate mails may be rejected.

Further taken in context, it is clear that there are recipients who do 
or wants to implement filters that filter on character sets. No one but 
you mentioned the FreeBSD server.

With all respect, I think the misinterpretation is all yours.

Cheers, Erik
-- 
Ph: +34.666334818                      web: http://www.locolomo.org
X.509 Certificate: http://www.locolomo.org/crt/8D03551FFCE04F0C.crt
Key ID: 69:79:B8:2C:E3:8F:E7:BE:5D:C3:C3:B1:74:62:B8:3F:9F:1F:69:B9


--------------ms010802010100000703060209
Content-Type: application/x-pkcs7-signature; name="smime.p7s"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="smime.p7s"
Content-Description: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature
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--------------ms010802010100000703060209--



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?45393135.6070907>