lycos's spam offensive
 

lycos, has released a program which acts as a screensaver but is actively crippiling email spammers, the program itself will hit known IP's with ' HTTP get requests' to choke servers which send spam.

65.000 users have already participated in the program.

source: yahoo news

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...spam_vigilante

adds more traffic to the internet, but will it make a diffarence ?

its totally legal...

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Cheers kronny, I've installed mine already :D

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

no problem.

URL for those wanting it:

http://makelovenotspam.com/intl/

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

I also installed it today :)

Just go to leave my pc alone long enough for it to actually get used now :)

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Have dont the same just this second........ :angel: :disturbd:

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Excellent! In fact have a red rep :)

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

cheeky sod :p: :D

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Site's not available :(

I blame the spammers :erm:

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

the site is working fine here, perhaps lycos does not like you, and hopes your spammed. ;)

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

installed and will leave running tonight

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Site working now :)

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Isn't this just going to add more useless traffic to the network and to the rest of the internet?
I'm not convinced it is enitirely legal anyway.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

The spammers aren't exactly legit...

EDIT: It looks like the spammers have launched a counter attack by denying service to makelovenotspam.com - could this be the start of the 1st Internet War? :D

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Sorry? Launching DOS attacks is now *legal*???

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Well its all a little bloody these battles in real life.

So lets settle this

THE BATTLE OF THE PC USER V THE SPAMMERS.

Settled on voted multiplayer game of choice.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

the link says they checked it out.

i thought the same too.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

It's not a DOS attack, it only requests web pages and the moment the site starts responding slowly the software will back off.
You've obviously never seen a real DDOS, it's constant and can do real damage.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Well my screen saver can't access the servers at the moment, wonder why? :(

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

What a daft idea - I would advise you to be very careful - this *is* a DDOS attack - it's a planned, distributed, attempt to kill a server or servers, end of story. If they report you to your isp they will quite possibly take action. I doubt ntl would view it very favourably.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Weblink doesn't work any way, looks like there's an internet war going on :p:

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

It is a Denial of Service attack. They are using a network of PCs to attack the Spammer's computers, thus slowing the computers. Just because the screen saver backs off after a while doesn't mean it's any less of a DOS. BTW, I have seen a real DOS...

I personally think Spammers are **** and should be treated with nothing but scorn, but I think people should bear a few things in mind:

1) You may be DOSing an innocent person's machine. Spammers are increasingly using Botnets (networks of trojan-infected PCs). After all, how would any of us feel if this screensaver DOSed our machines? It's also possible that you could be DOSing a machine that does something important.

2) Whether legal or not, I believe most ISPs have a clause in their Acceptable Use Policy that spefically bans attacks like this. I haven't got time to look for it, but I am certain NTL does..

3) Who's to say the Spammers won't just get a new IP then start again? Thus rendering any blacklists invalid. At least if the user blocks Spam, the Spammers don't know (and probably don't care) they are doing it.


In the meantime, if this scheme takes off, the increased network traffic will slow the internet down for a lot of people (even if it is only very slightly).

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

It appears that the screensaver has been more popular than Lycos bargained for, resulting in some spam websites actually being taken down completely or being rendered effectively unuseable.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4061375.stm

Well, cry me a river.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

If they are on a shared server (or shared connection in a Data Centre), then DDOSing Spam sites like this could very well knock innocent sites of the web..


Much better to do what some enterprising people at /. (slashdot) did... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/12...s_junk_mailed/

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

I have now checked, and using this screensaver would seem to violate Section 4 of the Acceptable Use Policy..

Note, I am not saying it is wrong to use this screensaver, just that if NTL find out you are doing it, they would have every right to terminate your connection.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Well, looks like Lycos have pulled it...

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

they have, with spammers and ISP's to blame.

source: computerworld

http://www.computerworld.com/softwar...7990p2,00.html

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

What a sad ending to what was an excellent idea. :(
The spammers have won again.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

It appears some would disagree:

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Indeed, but at least they were doing something. :(
If anything, they've highlighted the spam problem a bit more.

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

I agree :tu:

Re: lycos's spam offensive
 

Well, it may backfire... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12...nsaver_trojan/