Couple of my IPs has been listed on SPEWS and I have only 1 box with couple domains (hosted for the people I personally know and none of those sites are commercials.)

Will someone will give me some guidelines as how to enable SMTP authentication before sending mails?
Or any other methods that would prevent unauthorized users (spammers) to use my mail server so spam..

*this is sad. :(

ML

SPEWS blocks IP ranges, not specific servers. Anyway, their website has been down for weeks now, and I'm surprised that anyone still uses their lists. Check out http://www.msnbc.com/news/959094.asp for more information about recent spam blocklists being attacked.

-Josh

How does this common misconception keep getting passed around? SPEWS is not dead just because the web site doesn't come up for a lot of people.

nmluan:
SPEWS is not a liting of open relays. Since you don't provide the affected IP, it's not possible to determine what the listing is for. The IP the site in your profile resolves to is not listed. You'll need to talk to your provider and find out what the listing is for and what they're doing about it.

Originally posted by Annette
SPEWS is not dead

it better be :D someone still uses it though?

SPEWS may not be dead, but their website is down 99% of the time... I can rarely access it, but their lists still update.

- Matt

SPEWS is dead - they closed up shop :P

Originally posted by PCLink
SPEWS is dead - they closed up shop :P
No, they're actually not - OsiruSoft is dead, not SPEWS

- Matt

That would be very interesting to all those people still using it. Perhaps you'd like to point to anything that says SPEWS no longer exists? Matt is correct: the site may be unreachable for many people, but the lists are still available, still updated, and still in use - as the OP quite clearly shows. In fact, even our few remaining servers at NAC are all SPEWSed at this point, since it looks like every single IP associated with Pegasus is now listed, as of some point in the past week, so we know for certain that the lists are still being updated. Fortunately, we won't be affected by that too much longer...

Originally posted by Annette
That would be very interesting to all those people still using it. Perhaps you'd like to point to anything that says SPEWS no longer exists?

Christ almighty, did you not just get done explaining this to someone else a few posts up?

:rolleyes:

-B

Eh, I think it's wishful thinking on the part of some. SPEWS is made out to be such a huge boogeyman when (at least in our stats), Spamhaus and others, in conjunction with our own local list, deflect much, much more spam.

SPEWS should block pegasus, everyone should. I block any ip of theirs as soon as I get spammed from it. Another one of their customers, truehosting.com just spammed the hell out of my server, giant dictionary attack.

I already know it is useless to contact Pegasus, they do nothing. They have done nothing. They deserved to be listed on spews. They are the exact kind of host who should be listed on spews.

I can only guess, but I would imagine that Pegasus is so poorly run, and so close to being out of business, that they have to rely on spammer's money to keep alive. Granted I am not privy to their books, but why else would a host, host so many spammers unless it was desperate for cash?

Chet

The only reason the SPEWS website stays down is because they're constantly being DDoS'd. They're definitely alive and running....somewhere
Given all the publicity of negativity they've had...I still don't understand why people still use them. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by sassSE
The only reason the SPEWS website stays down is because they're constantly being DDoS'd. They're definitely alive and running....somewhere

The spammers have been DOSing everyone of note involved in dnsbl maintenance/distribution and spamfighting in general. It is because of them that lists like spews have not only come into existence, but have become so wildly popular.

Given all the publicity of negativity they've had...I still don't understand why people still use them. :rolleyes:

The majority of the negativity comes from spammers and, well, people like you who just don't like them for whatever reason. Despite that, the market has spoken pretty loudly - the market wants spews and its cousins.

As for spews, I'm not saying they're good or bad, but that:

A - they have a right to exist and do what they're doing

B - admins have a right to use them

You just have to hope that those who do use them are aware of what they're doing. If they are, then the blame for this entire mess needs to be shifted right back onto the spammers where it belongs.

-Bob

Originally posted by TMX

The majority of the negativity comes from spammers and, well, people like you who just don't like them for whatever reason. Despite that, the market has spoken pretty loudly - the market wants spews and its cousins.

As for spews, I'm not saying they're good or bad, but that:

A - they have a right to exist and do what they're doing

B - admins have a right to use them

You just have to hope that those who do use them are aware of what they're doing. If they are, then the blame for this entire mess needs to be shifted right back onto the spammers where it belongs.

-Bob

"People like me"...who are the innocent bystanders ..who get blacklisted by them when they decide to blacklist 'everyone' to get everyone's attention to "stop using their lists". People like me, who get caught up in the netblocks that get listed...yes, there are many legitimate reasons why "people like me" don't appreciate SPEWS at this time. If SPEWS was used wisely, perhaps they would be more welcomed and not fall under the attacks that they have.

I agree with you on your points that they have a right to exist and admins have a right to use them, but to say that the market wants them to exist I think is a little off base.

Anyway, I'm not going to keep arguing the SPEWS issues...you have your opinion and others have theirs. We'll agree to disagree. :)

Originally posted by sassSE
"People like me"...who are the innocent bystanders ..who get blacklisted by them when they decide to blacklist 'everyone' to get everyone's attention to "stop using their lists".

See, this is what I mean. They don't "decide to blacklist everyone" just like that. If there's collateral damage, it's because your provider (or you, I don't know) hasn't addressed an ongoing spam problem. This is how they operate, it's no big secret.

If SPEWS was used wisely, perhaps they would be more welcomed and not fall under the attacks that they have.

What would you consider to be "wise" usage of spews? As for the attacks, it is suspected (and at least one dnsbl provider has evidence to back it up) that they are being perpetrated by spammers who are being hurt by the combined success of these dnsbls. These guys are making serious money, and they're pissed.

I agree with you on your points that they have a right to exist and admins have a right to use them, but to say that the market wants them to exist I think is a little off base.

I base that comment on the fact that it is so widely used. If the market (the market being sysadmins) didn't want it, we wouldn't even be discussing it here today. Contrast this to, oh, the blars list for example. Just as available as spews - actually, even more so, because it's not a victim of the DOS attacks. Why? Because nobody uses it. The only time you see anyone discussing it at all is when "person A" tells "person B" not to worry about being listed on it.

I fully understand your frustration, having been "collateral damage" twice myself, but I also understand why spews exists and what brought it about. It's not a good situation all around, and hopefully the time will come when either technology or federal/international law catches up with the spammers, and none of this will be necessary anymore.

We'll agree to disagree. :)

OK.

-B

Well, evil or no, SPEWS has blocked a large chunk of a network we are on, for something that didn't involve us. Now that the problem has been removed (and confirmed so by outside sources, including the monkeys.com guy). we're still listed in SPEWS. That's annoying.

Having used SPEWS myself, I also wonder why anyone uses it. As far as I've seen, it doesn't make a noticable difference in the amount of spam coming in. All it seems to do is to create annoying little problems where people can't email each other. That's all well and good if you're one of those NANAE losers who has nothing better to do than to lord over email users like God of the internet or something, but not when you are trying to run a proper business.

Anyways...just my ranting 2 cents.

I look at it as being a good stick to poke spam friendly isps with.

Chet

Originally posted by Andrew
Well, evil or no, SPEWS has blocked a large chunk of a network we are on, for something that didn't involve us. Now that the problem has been removed (and confirmed so by outside sources, including the monkeys.com guy). we're still listed in SPEWS. That's annoying.

Having used SPEWS myself, I also wonder why anyone uses it. As far as I've seen, it doesn't make a noticable difference in the amount of spam coming in. All it seems to do is to create annoying little problems where people can't email each other. That's all well and good if you're one of those NANAE losers who has nothing better to do than to lord over email users like God of the internet or something, but not when you are trying to run a proper business.

Anyways...just my ranting 2 cents.

hrm.. Well I am sorry to say your statement is a little contradictory.. If your network is believed to be spammers and you cant email anyone, until you or your provider alert spews to the removal of the spammers. If you can't email people, I think that is the point...

I myself run a proper business and worked for ISPs, certainly there are lots of Kooks in NANAE but there are several of us who base our lively-hood off of mail, and spam and providers who tolerate spammers are of no interest to us. I see that we have it 1 of 2 ways, we set the guidelines (internet users) or the government will step in and birden us all with tons of regulations and remove all the freedoms we have...

--Dave

Originally posted by Daver
hrm.. Well I am sorry to say your statement is a little contradictory.. If your network is believed to be spammers and you cant email anyone, until you or your provider alert spews to the removal of the spammers. If you can't email people, I think that is the point...

I myself run a proper business and worked for ISPs, certainly there are lots of Kooks in NANAE but there are several of us who base our lively-hood off of mail, and spam and providers who tolerate spammers are of no interest to us. I see that we have it 1 of 2 ways, we set the guidelines (internet users) or the government will step in and birden us all with tons of regulations and remove all the freedoms we have...

--Dave


Dude, what the heck are you talking about? What's contradictory? 'little problems where people can't email each other'??

Think about it for a moment. (perhaps try this before you type, it does wonders for post quality)