[KYHAM] Some thoughts on SPAM , forwarding addresses and this listserv.

[Pat Spencer, KD4PWL]

Hi all,
	Hopefully it is a slow and safe Thanksgiving week for all.  I thought I 
would take a few minutes and explain a few things and put a few others in 
perspective.
	The ARRL email forwarding service is a really good concept as it allows 
you to change your email address and in a way keep the same address to pass 
out to others.  It does have one ramification as it relates to this listerv 
that is explained in the "Welcome" email that all subscribers receive.
	In the days before SPAM, many ISP's had their email servers set up as open 
relays that would accept mail from any source and transfer it like it was 
its own.  Not any more.  Almost every ISP has closed their mail servers to 
only accept email from users on their system.  This is accomplished by 
authentication and other means.  But let's suffice to say that if your ISP 
has a closed mail server, you probably won't be able to send email as 
callsign@arrl.net.  This is usually placed in the "reply-to" portion of 
your mail header, and your ISP will reject it.
	So those of you who have subscribed to KYHAM using your arrl.net or any 
other forwarding address, keep in mind that while you might be able to 
receive email from KYHAM without any problems, you may not be able to 
post.  Likewise, since you are subscribed to the listserv under your 
@arrl.net address, any email send from your "home" address will be rejected 
by the listserv as it does not recognize you as a subscriber.  If you would 
like more information on this, or would like to post, but have not been 
able to because of this, contact me privately, and we'll get your 
subscription changed around, or your questions answered.
	The problem you saw today in the news about the arrl.net system is it's 
lack of SPAM filtering, and perhaps even an open relay.  There are services 
out there that create blacklists of systems who have open relays and 
automatically reject any email from that system.
	Allow me to draw a comparison to effective SPAM filtering, and 
conscientious observance of how SPAMMERs work.  QTH.NET also has an email 
forwarding service.  According to comments from Al Waller the owner of 
QSL.NET today, "We have 45,000 or so active mail users on QSL.NET, I deny 
about 300,000 e-mails daily that are known spammers."  They have extensive 
filtering, and security on QTH.NET.  I have known Al for a few years, and 
he is always explaining the steps taken on his systems on the QTH.NET admin 
listserv.
	On a much smaller scale, let's look at the stats from KYHAM in 
October.  According to the automated log I get each month, there were 309 
posts to the listserv.  Of those, only 71 were distributed by the listserv 
because the others were from spammers, or non-subscribers.  That is 238 
(almost 8 per day) extraneous or SPAM emails you did not receive receive 
last month because of aggressive SPAM filtering.
	In this day and age of the Internet, running an email server is not a 
matter to be taken lightly.  It is an enterprise that must be monitored, 
and effectively filters to prevent SPAM from propagating.  If your mail 
server is open, and subject to propagating SPAM, you will probably end up 
on a blacklist somewhere, and ISPs will start rejecting any email, 
legitimate or not from your system.
	Because the laws have not caught up with times, there is scant legal 
recourse one can take against SPAMMERs.  However, the peer pressure of 
being blacklisted for unprofessional email server management sometimes is 
the best method of effecting change.  If your customers cannot get their 
email to the recipient, they are going to choose another ISP.

73, Take care!  Be safe if you are travelling this holiday!
Pat Spencer, KD4PWL
KYHAM Admin