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Evidence of spam reduction


Simon

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Reporting spam to spamcop does not reduce the amount of spam you get directly. You will only see a reduction in spam if you actually take advantage of the SCBL for filtering. Spamcop currently catches about 5,000 emails per day for my 40 mailbox organization.

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...And see a discussion as to whether the opposite is true in thread "Amazing reduction in spam."

...Another thread of possible interest to you would be the one entitled "Is it really doing any good?"

...You may also want to peruse SpamCop FAQ (see link near top of page) entries labeled "How does SpamCop reporting work?" and "Why did my spam load increase after I started Reporting?"

...Finally, you may be interested in "official" FAQ entry "How can I use the blocklist without mailserver configuration?"

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Is there any evidence to show that the reporting of spam to SpamCop actually reduces the amount of spam one gets?

Hi Simon!

A lot of folk misunderstand the potential effects of block lists such as SpamCop's. The assumption is often that by reporting it will somehow cause a spammer to be stopped and thus the flow of spam will reduce, if not stop altogether.

Sadly this isn't the case. But as others have noted it does give you a means to more effectively prevent the junk reaching your mailbox if you take advantage of the SCBL. Just as much spam - perhaps more - sets off to reach you but the bulk should be captured by whatever filtering or blocking you choose to undertake.

Andrew

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A lot of folk misunderstand the potential effects of block lists such as SpamCop's. The assumption is often that by reporting it will somehow cause a spammer to be stopped and thus the flow of spam will reduce, if not stop altogether.

Sadly this isn't the case. But as others have noted it does give you a means to more effectively prevent the junk reaching your mailbox if you take advantage of the SCBL. Just as much spam - perhaps more - sets off to reach you but the bulk should be captured by whatever filtering or blocking you choose to undertake.

If no effect on spam levels, then I'm not really interested in spending the time reporting. I would pay $$$$ to see a few spammers nailed, even if no overal reduction in spam level for me personally. As for "take advantage of the SCBL".... put potentially valuable client email in the hands of some external "body"... not likely. Much prefer to hit the junk button myself... at least I can do a quick check!!!!

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If no effect on spam levels, then I'm not really interested in spending the time reporting. I would pay $$$$ to see a few spammers nailed, even if no overal reduction in spam level for me personally. As for "take advantage of the SCBL".... put potentially valuable client email in the hands of some external "body"... not likely. Much prefer to hit the junk button myself... at least I can do a quick check!!!!

Geeze ... amd this just after reading your "I am a scientist, with 30 years of experience ...." post in another Topic ...

In that post you also state "I filter ..." .... use of the SpamCopDNSBL is also that ... another filter set ... you don't put your e-mail into anyone else's hands ....

Please do that "scientist" thing and do a bit of research before tossing out these wild and unbased specualtions ...

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Geeze ... amd this just after reading your "I am a scientist, with 30 years of experience ...." post in another Topic ...

In that post you also state "I filter ..." .... use of the SpamCopDNSBL is also that ... another filter set ... you don't put your e-mail into anyone else's hands ....

Please do that "scientist" thing and do a bit of research before tossing out these wild and unbased specualtions ...

If its a "SpamCopDNSBL" or any other outside filter then it aint mine mate...... "When email for you arrives at the SpamCop Email System, it is analyzed to see if it comes from a known spam source or from a system likely to be used by spammers. If that's the case, the email is automatically moved into a special "Held Mail" folder for suspected spam." Then I need to log onto this unfriendly site and all it involves to check if anything that is not spam has been held.

If I use Eudora Junk mail it ALL comes to me into my mailbox, I am in control, no outside geeks!!!

Simple isn't it, and maybe that's the problem for some people.

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Then I need to log onto this unfriendly site and all it involves to check if anything that is not spam has been held.

If I use Eudora Junk mail it ALL comes to me into my mailbox, I am in control, no outside geeks!!!

Simple isn't it, and maybe that's the problem for some people.

There are many ways to configure the spamcop email system. Using webmail is not necessary for serveral of them.

For instance:

-You can configure the system to forward all email after it has tagged it so you can filter yourself.

-You could use an IMAP connection with Eudora, accessing the Inbox and Held Mail folders.

You can also use third party software in order to only utilize the SpamCop DNSBL on your own machine.

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If its a "SpamCopDNSBL" or any other outside filter then it aint mine mate...... "When email for you arrives at the SpamCop Email System, it is analyzed to see if it comes from a known spam source or from a system likely to be used by spammers. If that's the case, the email is automatically moved into a special "Held Mail" folder for suspected spam." Then I need to log onto this unfriendly site and all it involves to check if anything that is not spam has been held.

If I use Eudora Junk mail it ALL comes to me into my mailbox, I am in control, no outside geeks!!!

Nice quote, but ... what does it have to do with you? I don't recall you stating that you had and/or used a SpamCop.net e-mail account?

Simple isn't it, and maybe that's the problem for some people.

And we 'here' keep trying to simplify things, yet ...????

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Nice quote, but ... what does it have to do with you? I don't recall you stating that you had and/or used a SpamCop.net e-mail account?

And we 'here' keep trying to simplify things, yet ...????

The point I was making is that using something "external" starts to get complicated.... I am busy, have a life.

Suggest you stand back, have a long hard look, and see just how "simple" this website is....... for geeks with a lot of time, maybe es, but for other folk it is not so easy....

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The point I was making is that using something "external" starts to get complicated.... I am busy, have a life.

Take a look at suggested thrid=party tools ... SpamPal comes to mind for a Windows machine ...

Suggest you stand back, have a long hard look, and see just how "simple" this website is....... for geeks with a lot of time, maybe es, but for other folk it is not so easy....

Second time you've made that remark, again with no supporting data provoded.

First of all, this isn't a web-site, it's a Forum ....

What tools, buttons, devices do you think are missing?

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Although spamcop is definitely weighted for the professional, if you use the spamcop email service, the average user can both benefit and contribute.

for geeks with a lot of time, maybe es, but for other folk it is not so easy....

the concepts are not that difficult - I have a BA in English and I understand what is going on. It is like recycling or what greenhouse effects are really pertinent. Is the fact that glaciers are receding dramatically important? Blocklists are much easier to understand.

Miss Betsy

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One thing I don't have a lot of is time. If this thing was any good I (and probably many others) would be throwing $$$$ at it, and you'd probably have Google coming along as well with a billion.

Yes, it is a forum... the entire spamcop thing... great place for geeks to exchange ideas/comments. For ordinary joe-blow, not a lot on offer I'm afraid.

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You still don't understand. It is not spamcop that is important. spamcop is one of many blocklists. It is blocklists that are the answer. The reason that ISPs haven't used them or don't allow customers choices is because they can't seem to translate technical information into persuasive language for the customer. The concept of blocklists is no more difficult than the concept of oil changes for automobiles.

Miss Betsy

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You still don't understand. It is not spamcop that is important. spamcop is one of many blocklists. It is blocklists that are the answer. The reason that ISPs haven't used them or don't allow customers choices is because they can't seem to translate technical information into persuasive language for the customer. The concept of blocklists is no more difficult than the concept of oil changes for automobiles.

With respect Miss Betsy, perhaps it is you who don't understand.

I agree with this problem of "they can't seem to translate technical information into persuasive language for the customer".... I've got the $$$, am waiting to be convinced by someone with a product. There is a demand.... just a case of someone properly understanding that demand, i.e. understanding people like me (not a lot of that happening here). From my perspective, time is money, and handing this problem over to an external source and then having to log onto a website to check occasionally what has been filtered is not the answer. In my Eudora hitting the Junk button is easy and quick, then later going through the Junk mailbox checking for errors is quick/convenient and I do not need to be connected to the Internet.

The reliability of the Eudora Junk facility not brilliant but does the job:

Junk Email

122 messages (76%) this week

352 messages (76%) last week

Junk Email Not Identified

78 messages (48%) this week

194 messages (41%) last week

Email Incorrectly Identified as Junk

0 messages (0%) this week

0 messages (0%) last week

Junk Email Let Through by Address Book

0 messages (0%) this week

0 messages (0%) last week

Junk Identification Accuracy

51% this week

58% last week

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From my perspective, time is money, and handing this problem over to an external source and then having to log onto a website to check occasionally what has been filtered is not the answer. In my Eudora hitting the Junk button is easy and quick, then later going through the Junk mailbox checking for errors is quick/convenient and I do not need to be connected to the Internet.

Yet again ..... one doesn't "have to log onto a web-site" in conjunction with "using the SpamCopDNSBL" .... the only reason one would "have to log onto a web-site" in this case is if one was using the web-mail interface to a SpamCop.net e-mail account .... which you have repeatedly indicated that you are not using ....

As suggested previously, a tool such as SpamPal offers access to other filtering configurations, the SpamCopDNSBL i just one of the BLs already in thier configuration options list ....

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Yet again ..... one doesn't "have to log onto a web-site" in conjunction with "using the SpamCopDNSBL .... the only reason one would "have to log onto a web-site" in this case is if one was using the web-mail interface to a SpamCop.net e-mail account .... which you have repeatedly indicated that you are not using ....

As suggested previously, a tool such as SpamPal offers access to other filtering configurations, the SpamCopDNSBL i just one of the BLs already in thier configuration options list ....

Yep, no arument with what you say..... but you have a "product".... I am a potential consumer... stand back and look at the shopfront, from where I am standing it isn't so impressive.

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Yep, no arument with what you say..... but you have a "product".... I am a potential consumer... stand back and look at the shopfront, from where I am standing it isn't so impressive.

I still have nothing to "work with" as far as your negative comments go. This is a user-to-user support Forum for the various parts of the SpamCop.net system. There are alternative support venues ... please take the time to see;

What is SpamCop.net?

and

Where to get Help

Please hold off posting again until you look at this data .... or actually get specific about why you seem to have such a problem with finding your way around ...

For as busy as you want to convince everyone that you are, you sure seem to be trying to waste a lot of yours, mine, and all the other users that stop in to see "what's new" as the Topic shows up as having unread material ....

While you are doing that small bit of research, perhaps a look at Section 8 - SpamCop's System & Active Staff User Guide would also be beneficial .... specifically noting that "I have no product" ....

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Yep, no arument with what you say..... but you have a "product".... I am a potential consumer... stand back and look at the shopfront, from where I am standing it isn't so impressive.

Wazoo has no product, SpamCop has no product. You still have not done your homework. SpamCop DNSBL is free using tools available from others. SpamCop has a reporting service, also free if you want it to be, in order to feed that list and to contact the ISP's of the spammers and possibly shut them down.

I am glad you have found a system that works for you that does not involve SpamCop. Some of us are more worried about the entire state fo the internet. JHD is not an answer for me.

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Yep, no arument with what you say..... but you have a "product".... I am a potential consumer... stand back and look at the shopfront, from where I am standing it isn't so impressive.

I am not a spamcop email customer so I don't have any conception of whether it is user friendly or not. However, there are a number of enthusiastic users.

Spamcop reporting is not user friendly for the technically non-fluent and maybe is not intended to be since spamcop wants accurate reporting and wants reporters who understand what they are doing.

What you don't seem to realize is that as a technically non fluent end user, you have no control at all, except by your choice of email service providers, what email is received by you. If you choose an email service provider that does no filtering at all, you will receive all the spam and the viruses you want to filter. However, more and more providers are using filters and frequently without informing customers. In order to choose a reliable ISP (for sending as well as receiving), the end user is going to have to know something about how email is filtered for spam.

Miss Betsy

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The reliability of the Eudora Junk facility not brilliant but does the job:

Junk Email

122 messages (76%) this week

352 messages (76%) last week

Junk Email Not Identified

78 messages (48%) this week

194 messages (41%) last week

Email Incorrectly Identified as Junk

0 messages (0%) this week

0 messages (0%) last week

Junk Email Let Through by Address Book

0 messages (0%) this week

0 messages (0%) last week

Junk Identification Accuracy

51% this week

58% last week

Not sure why you think Eudora is so good? If I read your numbers correctly Eudora identifies ~50% of the spam correctly. Using Norton Internet Security, the numbers I have so far this month are:

Valid email 573 14.13%

Mail correctly identified 532 92.84%

spam 3481 85.87%

spam correctly identified 3349 96.21%

On the other hand, these are the first real numbers MikeJT has provided this forum. Looking at the volume of the traffic you, MikeJT, are dealing with I am beginning to understand your point of view. With 66 email a day "last week" you have a different point of view than others. Without going back to check, I seem to remember someone posting volumes like 50K. (It does not matter if that is /day or /month. It is several orders of magnitude greater.) That does give a different prospective of the spam problem.

But now that we have "real" numbers, I come to two assumptions:

1) You have exercised good internet security and not exposed your email address widely thus keeping it off spammer's list.

2) Your ISP is doing a fairly good job of filtering your email before sending it on to you. Do you know what email you have not received? With their filtering there is always the problem of false positives and missed mail.

In any case whether you report to spamcop and/or third parties, may boil down to whether you are happy in your corner of the internet or not, and whether you wish to invest time and/or money to improve the net in general. Every user of this tool (utility?) evaluates the quality they see and acts accordingly. I do wander how you stumbled onto spamcop or this forum.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The air seems to have gone out of this topic but data collections goes on.

My Oct and Nov data is at http://www.knob.com/spam

The larger increase of spam during non-reporting Oct correlates with increase in spam submitted to spamcop. Other than that I don't see any real news here. Around "black Friday" there seemed to be a bump in SW deals and drugs. The SW deals continue to be higher than in the past.

Having started this thing, going to continue through Dec just to make sure no revelations are missed.

Lou

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For those who are able to change email addresses and then are careful, spam is not a big problem - especially if the ISP has a good spam filter.

So, it is back to the ISPs, who are very independent, and prefer 'their' filter. Spamcop is a good filter for them because there is a way to notify false positives that email has not been delivered and notifies other admins who care if something has gone wrong. The more arrogant ISPs just drop the email and forget about netiquette.

Lking's statistics are interesting and demonstrate that blocklists really work best for the ISP. They would work best for the consumer also if the consumer would only wake up.

Miss Betsy

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