RE: fix.your.open.relay.or.die.net

>From: Brad Jensen

>Actually, you do not have to have anyone use you as a spam relay
>to be targeted by the ORB zealots. (I guess it is clear where I
>stand on this issue.)
>
>They probe your system to see if it can realy SMTP - which all
>systems that follow the RFCs do, by the way. In other words, if
>your system works correctly, they black hole list you. Then
>other people write their mail servers to read the black hole
>list, and if you are on it, they don't accept your mail. Even if
>it is an individual email.

No argument that some ORB sites look for open relays, but generally
speaking, someone reports an address that relayed spam, and that address
gets tested.  Normall a test message will not be a significant load on a
server or network.

>Basically these guys are terrorists who have hijacked the
>internet RFC process. The real solution is to password protect
>SMTP connections, the same as POP3. Meanwhile some vigilantes
>have found a horse they can ride.

Whoah there!  Terrorists?  They have a list of servers that are easily
targeted by spammers.  Other mail server administrators choose not to accept
mail from those servers.  No harm done.  Try to send mail through one of my
servers to a non-local user, and it will tell you 550 relaying denied.  Why
should I pay to deliver your messages to someone else?

OTOH, I agree that SMTP should be allowed if secured.  I disagree on using a
password, too easy to sniff.  (That's why I use POP3S or IMAPS instead of
POP3 or IMAP.)  Look at SMTP AUTH if that's what you want.

>inside your local net and a few selected ips. If you can't dial
>in and get your mail on the road, this is why.
>
>We eneded up putting a couple of 800 number dialins to our
>server, so we bypass the net to pick up mail. Pretty stupid, but
>it works.

Skipping the part where I repeat my argument about having to pay for other
people's messages, do you realize that SMTP is NOT used to "get your mail"
as you say?  That is POP or IMAP of some form.  Those are NOT involved in
blocking using ORB* type blocking.