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Index of Subjects Hi Michelle. We tried user-controlled filters and what we discovered was that users would blacklist every single spam address they received, even though spammers virtually never use the same address twice. So users new mail had to be checked against hundreds then thousands of bogus email addresses which would never be found causing mail delays and system loads. We have been applying our best efforts, most of our time, and most of our equipment budget to fighting spam since it exploded in volume last year. At our April 2006 Annual General Meeting we announced several new increased services. We've had time to implement none of them since then because all our resources are being sucked dry by the infinite black hole which is the spammers domain. With estimates that 25% of all computers on the internet are part of one or another botnet and our incoming mail volume increasing at a rate of 100,000 or so additional spam messages a day every two months, there is no end to the problem in sight. Of course with the cost of spam to us as a service provider there is the cost of dealing with the constant stream of complaints and all the lost clients who finally had enough of emptying out their mailboxes or waiting for us to put in one of the new services we announced last year. Your university account is using an internet appliance to weed spam. These cost several thousand dollars each as well as a stiff ongoing fee for constant updates. Implementing such a service would require close to a third of our assets in a time of declining revenue but even with that, we've discussed the idea and may even be forced into doing it at some future point. In the meantime we are using a lot of different techniques to catch the spam and have the resources to keep up with rising spam numbers for the time being. We are fine tuning and tweaking anti-spam techniques on a daily basis. I am sure you are not getting more spam than I do and the amount I am getting is manageable if annoying. So to sum up, we are doing everything it is within our power to do about spam. We don't guarantee that our best efforts are good enough for everyone's purposes. On Fri, 26 Jan 2007, Michelle Zurbrigg wrote: > I'm pretty technically inept, but I listen to a guy, I think it's Jesse Hirsh, > who talks about computers/technology on CBC radio. I've heard him say that it > is possible to weed out most spam, by taking the time to apply really specific > filters which are appropriate to an individuals email account. Additionally I > don't seem to receive any spam on my university email account. (This > account is > new, is that a factor?) > > Also: is there a way to blacklist senders? Is it your opinion that this would > help? > > As always - Thanks very much. > > Quoting CCN Help <ch1@chebucto.ns.ca>: > > > > > Hi Michelle, > > > > According to the office, our filters are set to optimum performance. > > There will always be spam that comes through, unfortunately. To increase > > the potency of the filters would mean to catch and delete legitimate email > > that looks like spam (and there is a lot of that). > > > > Most of the spam coming through right now is 'spoiler' spam, which > > tries to ruin the self-learning filters which teach themselves words, > > terms and phrases to catch spam on. The 'spoiler' spam is filled with > > junk words, terms and phrases to force the filters to become useless by > > grabbing just about every word and adding it to the criteria list, thereby > > negating any value of these filters. > > > > Unfortunately, there is no way to filter this type of spam. > > > > CCN Help > > > > ------------------ > > > > On Fri, 26 Jan 2007, Michelle Zurbrigg wrote: > > > >> Hi, I've been getting ridiculous amounts of spam over the last > >> 6mo/year or so. > >> I've checked that my spam filter is on via the chebucto web page. Is it > >> possible to apply other and more specific filters? > > > > > > -- > Michelle Zurbrigg > 247 C Margaret Avenue > Kitchener, Ontario > N2H 4J4 > 519-741-0913 >
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