Zombie Machines, Port Blocking, Confusion And Large Bills

from the the-world-we-live-in dept

With the incredible rise of zombie machines that spew spam messages constantly, it looks like different ISPs continue to take very different approaches to dealing with the problem. As expected, Comcast has now started selectively blocking port 25 on accounts from that appear to be compromised. However, others are taking more extreme approaches. Over in the UK, NTL has apparently decided to just start blocking a variety of ports on all their customers without warning. This was exactly what Comcast had realized not to do - since they knew the support costs from angry and confused users would not be worth it. In the case of NTL, it sounds as if some of their support people don't even know what's going on, which is causing even more problems when users call in. Up in Canada, the story is a bit different. It sounds like most Canadian providers have reasonable plans for dealing with zombie machines - including a hybrid approach of sending warnings to subscribers who appear to have been compromised, blocking ports on just those users, or cutting them off completely if they don't respond. Most have dedicated support staff whose job it is to help clean up machines. The article reports, though, that some corporate users who don't have unlimited bandwidth are discovering that their providers aren't informing them - leading to shocking large bandwidth bills. They point out that their service providers should have let them know as soon as they noticed something out of the ordinary, but so far the providers haven't been particularly forgiving (leading at least one company to declare bankruptcy).
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Chris O'Donnell, 10 Jun 2004 @ 7:17am

    No Subject Given

    Their machines are comprised and spewing millions of spam onto the Net, and they want relief from the bandwidth bill? It's not your ISP's job to monitor your machines. Screw em. Stick them with the bill and cut them off until they can prove the machine are clean.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Beck, 10 Jun 2004 @ 7:20am

    Another Technique

    Adelphia just notified us that we will have to sign in to the Adelphia email system before we can send out email. Apparently this can be done automatically through some Outlook settings.
    http://img.spk01.com/content/adelphia/newsletter/050418/reducespam.htm

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Jun 2004 @ 9:03am

    Take responsibility

    Figures.
    This is the land of " it's not my fault ".
    It is not the job of the ISP to monitor your computer. If your too stupid to either know or find out if your machine has been compromised then you need to be shut off.

    This is about as stupid as someone wanting to sue the manufacturer of their car because they left the keys in the ignition and the car got stolen.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Jeremiah, 10 Jun 2004 @ 9:37am

    Re: Take responsibility

    I guess the diff would be "knowing where the keys are." I mean this quite literally with respect to registry keys that spyware/malware/spamware insert to "zombify" a system. Imagine if your car's ignition (to use your metaphor) had 15,000 possible points of entry, each with a unique key. Even you would never get to work.

    Your comparison of car owners suing manufacturers because of theft is what's stupid. A car is thousands of pounds of steel and rubber, and if it's stolen, it's quite obvious. A computer system that's been compromised by software specifically designed to be hidden is not even comparable.

    The problem is not "stupid users", PEBKAC or ID10T. While I'll grant that an ounce of sophistication would do *wonders* for the obliteration of malware, I still contend the problem lies in the quagmire of poorly secured operating systems (Wind0ze), insidiously complex software applications, financially/politically motivated malware authors, and elitist technophiles who believe the internet community should be exclusively for people just like themselves.

    Seriously, would you blame the driver of a car for stalling if someone shoves potatos in their tailpipe??

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Jun 2004 @ 9:49am

    Re: Take responsibility

    yes, if they are too stupid to turn on their car alarms when exiting the car.

    You have to take responsibility for your own protection.

    By leaving every port open, not installing a firewall, adaware or some such similar software, virus protection software & complaining that computers are too hard to learn, people reap what they sow.

    Blaming windows is like the idiots that are blaming Bush for blowing up the World Trade Center.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Jeremiah, 10 Jun 2004 @ 10:57am

    Re: Take responsibility

    "You have to take responsibility for your own protection." ...whatever that means.

    You and The John Birch Society would get along swimmingly.

    "Blaming windows is like the idiots that are blaming Bush for blowing up the World Trade Center." -- way to bring up a relevant comparison. Please change your nickname to: "Constructor of Straw Men."

    Did you bring enough of whatever you're smoking for the rest of us here on Techdirt?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Jun 2004 @ 11:21am

    Re: Take responsibility

    Don't you have something boring to blog ?
    Buy your own grass Jeremiah.

    If you don't like windows, you are always welcome to invent something better !

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Jun 2004 @ 1:36pm

    Re: Take responsibility

    How about your mother? Is she a computer security expert, or should she be shut off the internet?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    A different Anon Coward, 10 Jun 2004 @ 2:22pm

    Re: Take responsibility

    ""You have to take responsibility for your own protection." ...whatever that means."

    Just like a true tie-dyed-in-the-wool "L-word" Can't even grasp the concept of individuals being responsible for themselves, and their actions/inactions!

    The liberal manta: "I am never responsible for myself. It is some big, bad that is at fault. I think it is time for me to run and hide behind the skirts of mommy, er... big government."

    "You and The John Birch Society would get along swimmingly."

    And you would get along swimmingly with say the CPUSA (Communist Party USA). Pot - kettle black as it were. Neener, neener, neener.

    ""Blaming windows is like the idiots that are blaming Bush for blowing up the World Trade Center." -- way to bring up a relevant comparison. Please change your nickname to: "Constructor of Straw Men.""

    Yeah that is fairly irrelevant.
    But, GASP! It *seems* like you agree that blaming President Bush for the WTC attack is indeed moronic. Could it be so? Bzzzz, you get docked 300 liberal points. You are in danger of becoming a horrible, neo Fascist non-liberal. Oops, sorry that is redundant in liberal-speak.

    "Did you bring enough of whatever you're smoking for the rest of us here on Techdirt?"

    Huh? What a maroon! Don't you know that conservatives don't smoke that stuff. Only you drugged out pinko liberal scum do that.

    The "liberal dictionary"

    http://
    www.americancivilrightsreview.com/mailliberal.html


    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Jean-Yves Landry, 10 Jun 2004 @ 5:56pm

    Sympatico -- Not that nice


    Sorry guys: Sympatico has restricted the flow of EMail message to their sole Internet Gateways (this was a year ago). This was done without any warning and at the most inapropriate of time. At the time, Sympatico even forgot to tell their own helpdesk.


    Therefore, before saying how nice is Sympatico, just check your fact. They have change a lot of thing without any warning to their clientele. For example, implementing control mesure that was filtering out some good messages.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.