Re: Check This Out. #3B24

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Pahle, Morten Gleditsch (pahle@iway.fr)
Thu, 29 Apr 1999 08:37:41 +0200

Paul Hilling wrote:
>
> Shouldn't the list be a subscribers only list? Then the spammer would have
> to sub to the list to spam it.

I should probably not post this without checking to make absolutely
sure, but, unless I am very much mistaken:
It is reasonably easy to make a script which will query the list server
for the email addresses of all the members on the list. You do not
necessarily need to be a subscriber of the list to fo this, even.

Then, email programs exist which will post to all these people.

If you look closely, you'll see that the original spam was not posted to
the list, but directly to you.

I think that John Stile's comment is related to how easy it is for
someone to harvest the email addresses of subscribers off the server.

Unfortunately, once it is done (as it obviously has), the 'list of
emails of faq-maintainers' has become a separate entity, and will/can be
sold to anyone else, on a CD-ROM or similar.

Not very nice, is it?

Morten.

-- 
pahle@iway.fr : Pahle, Morten Gleditsch
MetOp RAMS responsible

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