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From: Sven Littkowski
Subject: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 10:45:22
Message: <45607c12@news.povray.org>
Hi everyone.

Since many months I recognize a big security problem with the POV-Ray 
newsgroups, and decided to talk about, in order to have that big security 
problem fixed.

Anyone who is posting a thread here, is also automatically adding his e-mail 
address to his/her thread. It would be fine if the e-mail address could be 
altered by some server-side script (PHP or whatever) in order to prevent 
that e-mail search engines of spammers can mis-use the e-mail addresses the 
threads contain.

I am getting each month more than 1,000 (!) spam e-mails since I am posting 
here! Not only caused by this website, but among other newsgroups websites I 
am participating. But most alter the e-mail address of a participant to 
something e-mail search engines cannot identify anymore as e-mail address.

An example: Such a server-side PHP script could use
str_replace("@","[]",$Posting)
and
str_replace(".","[]",$Posting)
to make the e-mail addresses unusable for those spammers. Such a modified 
e-mail address would then look like that:
"Sven[]yahoo[]com"

Of course, this is just a simple example. Other variants are possible. A 
human can always correct the e-mail address if (s)he desires to send a 
message directly to a person who posted here.

Greetings,

Sven


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 10:48:54
Message: <45607ce6@news.povray.org>
Sven Littkowski <sve### [at] jamaica-focuscom> wrote:
> Anyone who is posting a thread here, is also automatically adding his e-mail 
> address to his/her thread.

  Nobody forces you to configure your newsreader to send your true email
address.
  For example my address in this post, while valid, is not the adress of
this computer I'm posting from.

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Chris Cason
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 12:33:26
Message: <45609566@news.povray.org>
Sven Littkowski wrote:
> Anyone who is posting a thread here, is also automatically adding his e-mail 
> address to his/her thread. It would be fine if the e-mail address could be 
> altered by some server-side script (PHP or whatever) in order to prevent 
> that e-mail search engines of spammers can mis-use the e-mail addresses the 
> threads contain.
> 
> I am getting each month more than 1,000 (!) spam e-mails since I am posting 
> here! Not only caused by this website, but among other newsgroups websites I 
> am participating. But most alter the e-mail address of a participant to 
> something e-mail search engines cannot identify anymore as e-mail address.
> 
> An example: Such a server-side PHP script could use
> str_replace("@","[]",$Posting)
> and
> str_replace(".","[]",$Posting)
> to make the e-mail addresses unusable for those spammers. Such a modified 
> e-mail address would then look like that:
> "Sven[]yahoo[]com"

email addresses in the web view are obfuscated.


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From: Eero Ahonen
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 12:51:52
Message: <456099b8$1@news.povray.org>
Sven Littkowski wrote:
> Hi everyone.
> 
> Anyone who is posting a thread here, is also automatically adding his e-mail 
> address to his/her thread. 

Like Warp said, the address doesn't need to be valid. Check mine, it's a
fully working one, but scrambled to avoid spam (still easy for human to
resolve).

> I am getting each month more than 1,000 (!) spam e-mails since I am posting 
> here! Not only caused by this website, but among other newsgroups websites I 
> am participating. But most alter the e-mail address of a participant to 
> something e-mail search engines cannot identify anymore as e-mail address.

Hmm, I couldn't find your email address as a valid one from the webpage.
Via newsreader I did, in Warps message.

http://news.povray.org/povray.general/thread/%3C45607c12%40news.povray.org%3E/

> An example: Such a server-side PHP script could use
> str_replace("@","[]",$Posting)
> and
> str_replace(".","[]",$Posting)
> to make the e-mail addresses unusable for those spammers. Such a modified 
> e-mail address would then look like that:
> "Sven[]yahoo[]com"

The page does this (or at least someting does): "en [at] jam". Just to
note it's usually better to still make a difference between @ and .,
while aero[]pov[]zbxt[]net might be "@.." or ".@.", just for example.

> Of course, this is just a simple example. Other variants are possible. A 
> human can always correct the e-mail address if (s)he desires to send a 
> message directly to a person who posted here.

Yep. I'm paranoid enough to scramble my address before posting ;).

> Greetings,
> 
> Sven 
> 
> 


-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
   http://www.zbxt.net
      aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid


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From: Alain
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 13:19:27
Message: <4560a02f$1@news.povray.org>
Sven Littkowski nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 19/11/2006 10:45:
> Hi everyone.

> Since many months I recognize a big security problem with the POV-Ray 
> newsgroups, and decided to talk about, in order to have that big security 
> problem fixed.

> Anyone who is posting a thread here, is also automatically adding his e-mail 
> address to his/her thread. It would be fine if the e-mail address could be 
> altered by some server-side script (PHP or whatever) in order to prevent 
> that e-mail search engines of spammers can mis-use the e-mail addresses the 
> threads contain.

> I am getting each month more than 1,000 (!) spam e-mails since I am posting 
> here! Not only caused by this website, but among other newsgroups websites I 
> am participating. But most alter the e-mail address of a participant to 
> something e-mail search engines cannot identify anymore as e-mail address.

> An example: Such a server-side PHP script could use
> str_replace("@","[]",$Posting)
> and
> str_replace(".","[]",$Posting)
> to make the e-mail addresses unusable for those spammers. Such a modified 
> e-mail address would then look like that:
> "Sven[]yahoo[]com"

> Of course, this is just a simple example. Other variants are possible. A 
> human can always correct the e-mail address if (s)he desires to send a 
> message directly to a person who posted here.

> Greetings,

> Sven 


Anybody who configure his news acount with his real, un-obfuscated address is 
just asking to get spammed. My address *looks* OK, but there is an added DOT "." 
in my name. Remove it and you can send me mail, keep it, and the mail bounces.
Take note that news posting are keept FOREVER on google archives. I've found my 
firsts news posts there, they date back to 1997, with a real address.

-- 
Alain
-------------------------------------------------
The last person that quit or was fired will be held responsible for  everything 
that goes wrong.


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 14:57:54
Message: <pan.2006.11.19.19.57.47.340995@nospam.com>
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 16:45:20 +0100, Sven Littkowski wrote:

> Anyone who is posting a thread here, is also automatically adding his e-mail 
> address to his/her thread. It would be fine if the e-mail address could be 
> altered by some server-side script (PHP or whatever) in order to prevent 
> that e-mail search engines of spammers can mis-use the e-mail addresses the 
> threads contain.

Why do you think my e-mail address is as it is?

Jim


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From: Sven Littkowski
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 16:52:07
Message: <4560d207@news.povray.org>
Hmm, seems I put my hand in a bee nest, ha ha! Well, it looks to me that I 
posted unneccessarily. I was just not knowing that it is possible to use an 
invalid e-mail address. Well, I am apologizing to all, and thanks for the 
many responses (blush, shame)...

Greetings,

Sven


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 18:27:19
Message: <pan.2006.11.19.23.27.12.120399@nospam.com>
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 22:50:02 +0100, Sven Littkowski wrote:

> Hmm, seems I put my hand in a bee nest, ha ha!

It happens. ;-)

Jim


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From: Alain
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 19 Nov 2006 21:56:55
Message: <45611977@news.povray.org>
Sven Littkowski nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 19/11/2006 16:50:
> Hmm, seems I put my hand in a bee nest, ha ha! Well, it looks to me that I 
> posted unneccessarily. I was just not knowing that it is possible to use an 
> invalid e-mail address. Well, I am apologizing to all, and thanks for the 
> many responses (blush, shame)...

> Greetings,

> Sven 


Back in 1997, I did not know AND spam was yet to be a problem. Everybody need to 
learn, sometimes, the hard way.

-- 
Alain
-------------------------------------------------
A day for firm decisions!!!!!  Or is it?


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From: Thomas de Groot
Subject: Re: BIG Newsgroup Spam Problem
Date: 20 Nov 2006 03:53:54
Message: <45616d22$1@news.povray.org>
"Sven Littkowski" <sve### [at] jamaica-focuscom> schreef in bericht 
news:4560d207@news.povray.org...
> Hmm, seems I put my hand in a bee nest, ha ha! Well, it looks to me that I 
> posted unneccessarily. I was just not knowing that it is possible to use 
> an invalid e-mail address. Well, I am apologizing to all, and thanks for 
> the many responses (blush, shame)...
>

I didn't know either, Sven. So, there are at least two of us :-)

Thomas


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