Re: Test -- posting from unsubscribed address

dmilton@csus.edu
Fri, 12 Dec 1997 09:18:47 -0700

The subscribe portion of the sign-up is designed to create a list of
addresses to send the postings _to_, and was not intended to keep people
out. This is why address harvesters such as Floodgate are so effective.
Some lists do keep unsubcribed people out, however, a hacker with a second
grade education can simply enter the list through the backdoor (server
drive, ftp, etc.) If a spammer wants your address, he/she will get it one
way or another. Don't worry about spamming, just concentrate on creating
great works of art.

FYI- at least one spammer already has the addresses from this list; I've
received one spam that can only be traced back to this list.

PS: Not all anon services are bullet-proof either. Some anon services are
soooo paranoid of the FBI that they actually send the origniators' address
with the lead packet. Use anon services at your won risk; not all are safe,
and I suspect that a few of them are actually operated by the FBI or CIA.
They are not looking for photographers, but they are looking for criminal
activity. If you really want to stop spammers, there is only one way: PGP
with 2048 random key encryption. Encrypt all messages, including the
subject, and the list never decrypts them. The list server then strips the
sender's address from the message. Every sender then places their address
within the subject line, or in the first line of the text. Each subscriber
will carry every subscriber's key and decrypt the messages once they are
posted. Not very convenient. but effective.

David P. Milton

>All the "Subscribe" requests that get posted to the list indicate that the
>listserv software does not limit posting privileges to subscribed addresses
>only.
>
>This post is a test of that inference (the anonymous remailer is almost
>surely not subscribed).
>
>We may be too "fringe" to be worth spamming, but you never know.