[Apc-euroir-ws] "RIP Act" could result in massive surveillance -- BBC

[Rodney Tillotson]

At 13:31 10/09/2001, David Howe wrote:

 > Possibly worth noting that many ISPs are thinking of blocking outbound 25
 > connections from their dialup users (and IIRC, there is a voluntary dialup
 > pool "blacklist" already) as an "anti-spam measure".
 > would also restrict you quite nicely to sending email only via their
 > servers......

 From the anti-spam twilight --

Yes, it is good for ISPs to generally block outbound port 25 (and
587) because they haven't enough liaison with their customers to
make reasonable undertakings to their peers, and so to the rest of
us, that direct mail injection will not be abused.

But any decent ISP will have customers for whom it _is_ prepared
to make that undertaking, perhaps because they have signed a
declaration, because they are in some other way known to be
competent and responsible, or because they have paid a deposit.
(Or because they have paid more money for a 'pink contract', but
decent ISPs don't do that sort of thing).

I would expect ISPs to put their port 25 users in a separate
address block from the others, to make it straighforward for them
not to be caught by the Dial-Up List; but I haven't heard that
they do.

The port 25 block and the DUL were at first defences against
deliberate mail abuse by a customer. In these cable and DSL times
they also reduce the inadvertent availability of open relays.

Only just on-topic, I know. But there are all sorts of influences
confusing 'internal' and 'external' mail. This is outbound (at or
near the sender end). Ian Brown's traceroute is about the receiver
end.

Rodney Tillotson, JANET-CERT.
01235 822 255.