On Fri, 24 Mar 2000, Butter, Frank wrote:
>> > > You are coming from an open relay listed in the orbs. Fix your mailer.
>> The
>> > > problem is at your end.
>> >
>> > That's really not a very helpful response. It's not Doug's problem, but
>> > his ISP's. SPAM is a nuisance problem. ORBs replaces it with a DOS
>> > problem which is a serious (and childish) escalation, in my opinion.
>>
> who authorized ORBs for doing what they do? is it just my provider
>who
> has to ignore it or do other providers also no deliver mail anymore?
> what exactly can one do against this?
ORBS (http://www.orbs.org) is a service which holds a database of
known open relay systems on the net. They do not scan for
relays, rather they receive voluntary submissions via their web
page. When they receive a submission, they test the alledged
mail relay with a variety of tests which are non-intrusive and
legal. If they determine that it is in fact an open mail relay,
they add the system to their database and email the administrator
of the system telling them their system is an open relay.
After receiving such a notice, you've got one month (a long time
really) to correct the problem and tell ORBS that you've fixed
it. They do NOT publish your IP addresses for one month. After
one month however they put your machine in the publically
available database of open relays under the assumption that if a
system hasn't been fixed in a month it is unlikely to ever be
fixed.
Since this database is public, anyone can choose to use the DB
for whatever purpose they like, including obtaining lists of open
relays for spamming purposes, as well as for anti-spamming
purposes. Spammers will gladly use your machine for sending SPAM
if you choose to leave the system open. Other sites that are
sick of getting SPAM will use the ORBS database to auto reject
mail coming from sites in the database assuming it may be spam.
While it can be irritating to someone who is on an open-relay
that doesn't have administrative priveledge to fix the problem,
the service has its merits for the rest of us. In general you
either fix your mail relay (if it is yours), or you find a new
ISP, or system that is not an open relay to start with.
People religiously argue and debate both sides of the fence on
wether or not sites like ORBS are useful services, or a pain in
the ass. Regardless, it isn't going to disappear, nor are any
other similar services like ORBS going to disappear since they
are perfectly legal. So, one must learn to live with them, and
the only real way to do so is to close open relays.
I for one am sick of spam. This machine (meteng.on.ca) was in
ORBS in January, and it was inconvenient pain in the ass for me
to fix the problem, but I *had* to. We hadn't been used for
spamming AFAIK, but we could have been. I grumbled about it
because it took my time to fix, but once fixed it was over and
done with. If everyone does the same, we can eliminate SPAM.
That is my $0.02 on SPAM and ORBS anyways.. I do however
understand clearly both sides of the argument so please.. nobody
needs to rehash the whole thing again. It is unlikely to change.
Take care,
TTYL
-- Mike A. Harris Linux advocate Computer Consultant GNU advocate Capslock Consulting Open Source advocateI've overclocked my keyboard interface. It's quite messy dipping my hands into the mineral oil, but *MAN* is my keyboard ever fast now! - Anonymous Coward
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Mar 31 2000 - 21:00:12 EST