Comments on: Overwhelming blog spam, and Thunderbird vs. POPFile http://kylecordes.com/2006/11/10/blog-spam/ Kyle Cordes's Software Site Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:56:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.11 by: James http://kylecordes.com/2006/11/10/blog-spam/#comment-160 Fri, 24 Nov 2006 21:16:21 +0000 http://kylecordes.com/2006/11/10/blog-spam/#comment-160 I started using Akismet as soon as I got my WordPress blog in June, and it's caught over 2,000 spam comments! In that time the servers went down a few times, and it was amazing to see the difference it made, with comments hitting all over the place. I wouldn't be without it now. I'm going to download PopFile now and see how it works for me. Recently my email spam has gone through the roof, so a change for the better is welcome! James PS I also submitted your site to StumbleUpon - hope it brings in your deserved traffic! I started using Akismet as soon as I got my WordPress blog in June, and it’s caught over 2,000 spam comments! In that time the servers went down a few times, and it was amazing to see the difference it made, with comments hitting all over the place. I wouldn’t be without it now.

I’m going to download PopFile now and see how it works for me. Recently my email spam has gone through the roof, so a change for the better is welcome!

James
PS I also submitted your site to StumbleUpon - hope it brings in your deserved traffic!

]]> by: Nico http://kylecordes.com/2006/11/10/blog-spam/#comment-117 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:18:51 +0000 http://kylecordes.com/2006/11/10/blog-spam/#comment-117 IMHO, this fight is being fought in the wrong place. SMTP servers leave every email in and pass the responsability to client software. With this approach, there will always be false positives that will get lost. I can't think of a worse defeat than having to browse through "junk folder" trying to spot some legitimate message among the garbage. Filtering needs to be done in the server itself. Partly using (own) blacklists, partly using bayesian filters, partly using graylisting... but it should be crystal clear when a message is rejected. Leaving every message in also prevents companies sysadmins, ISPs and other intermediaries to take responsability for what they allow to their customers. If the server explicitely rejects the message during the protocol chat, the problem would be transferred to where it belongs. Of course you need to control your mail server or convince the person in charge to install the required pieces. There is a number of programs (often called "smtp proxies") that operate in the server part. I've seen <a href="http://www.howtoforge.com/antispam_smtp_proxy" rel="nofollow">this one</a> today in Digg. I'm writting another one in Delphi that I plan to connect to my blog comment system too. BTW, thank you for that page you had about BDE alternatives. It was *very* helpful some years ago :-) IMHO, this fight is being fought in the wrong place. SMTP servers leave every email in and pass the responsability to client software. With this approach, there will always be false positives that will get lost. I can’t think of a worse defeat than having to browse through “junk folder” trying to spot some legitimate message among the garbage. Filtering needs to be done in the server itself. Partly using (own) blacklists, partly using bayesian filters, partly using graylisting… but it should be crystal clear when a message is rejected. Leaving every message in also prevents companies sysadmins, ISPs and other intermediaries to take responsability for what they allow to their customers. If the server explicitely rejects the message during the protocol chat, the problem would be transferred to where it belongs.

Of course you need to control your mail server or convince the person in charge to install the required pieces. There is a number of programs (often called “smtp proxies”) that operate in the server part. I’ve seen this one today in Digg. I’m writting another one in Delphi that I plan to connect to my blog comment system too. BTW, thank you for that page you had about BDE alternatives. It was *very* helpful some years ago :-)

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