#128 One small victory against spam In the past twelve months the internet has been swamped an unprecedented explosion of unsolicited email (SPAM) plying its scams and filth over hundreds of thousands of gigabytes of bandwidth. That's bandwidth they're stealing from you and me. America Online has filed numerous suites against known spammers, and even eBay now declares they'll take legal action against the low-lifes who continue to harvest their email addresses from the auction system. __ One recent spam advertised that you can make "Thousands of Dollars Each Week" with the spammer's "25-Million Email Addresses" CD. Sort of ridiculous, wouldn't you say? Can this many email addresses even fit on a CD? Another amazingly stupid one told me that I could "Look like Cindy Crawford!" Me? Look like Cindy Crawford? Now, wouldn't THAT be something! __ Why do they persist? Why are they so stupid? None of us will like the answer to those questions. The truth is, the spammers will be with us as long as there are people who will buy their trash. It's the principle of supply and demand. __ Yesterday, another frequent and relentless spammer really got to me. Each time, I turned him into the authorities, he was gone, then he was back in a few days. His email listed five web sites, all of which were located by free hosting sites. (NONE require any credentials for a free web site.) The spam even admits "If one doesn't work, try another," saying they "control the inflow of traffic." (What a huge lie!) The spam was to sell you a list that offers "legal spamming." (Another barefaced lie!) His is in Florida, but the order form payment went to the United Kingdom. (Obvious tax evasion.) I found each of his ISPs and called them on the phone. One called me a moron. Another praised me. __ I'm happy to announce that as of last night at 3 am, the LAST of his five domains was shut down. But I wish this story had a happy ending. The sad fact is, as long as there are free services, and relay web servers, this low-life, and a thousand like him just won't go away. One ISP commented: "We can't even begin to cope with it. It's a growing epidemic: literally thousands of complaints each day. " __ Write your congressman if you do not like your mail box stuffed with needless and perhaps harmful unsolicited email. If you don't like them stealing your bandwidth, add your voice to the growing public outcry that this practice needs to be curtailed. There are a number of bills in congress now in an attempt to curb the onslaught, and you need to be sure your representatives know exactly how you feel. Fred NOT the end of the story... __ Here we are scarcely a month later, and this morning I get SIX new spams from this very same guy... same email message, but this time different 'free' hosting domains. Each of the six new spams is addressed from a different provider: Yahoo.com, India.com, HotMail.com, MSN.com, lycos.com and Libero.it Fred Showker is a designer, consultant, writer and speaker. He has published 60-Second Window and DT&G Magazine online since 1990, and is director of The Graphic Design Network which includes The Design & Publishing Center at www.Graphic-Design.com. (1994) He was a co-founder of both The User Group Forum on America Online (1987), The User Group Network at www.User-Groups.net, (1994) and the Designers' Bookshelf (1996) He originally founded Showker Graphic Arts & Design in 1972, has been an avid computer activist and supporter since 1984. Got Comments??? back to the 60-Second Window Index, 60-Second Lobby . . . or: The Design & Publishing Center. / . The User Group Network. / . Design University. / . The Designers' Bookshelf. / Would you like to carry the 60-Second Windows column in your newsletter or web site? Ask us about our syndication program... join hundreds of others who now publish 60-Second Windows! Thank you for visiting http://www.60-second.com/ DT&G: The Electronic Journal for Design, Typography & Graphics c/o Showker Graphic Arts 15 SouthGate, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 TAD, Voice, FAX: (540) 433-8402 Thank you for visiting 60-second.com, graphic-design.com, user-groups.net, and all of the sites including The Design & Publishing Center, The User Group Network, The Graphic Design Network. We bring you 100% spam-free content for designers, illustrators, publishers, photographers, and visual graphics arts professionals from all corners of the world. http://www.graphic-design.com/DTG/ -- Contents Copyright (c) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001. 60-Second Window is trademark, copyrighted since 1990. DT&G Magazine, and The Design & Publishing Center invite you to visit Photoshop Tips & Tricks at: http://www.graphic-design.com/photoshop/. Reproduction or reuse of parts or all of this manuscript without prior written permission is expressly forbidden.