admfubar says:

#!1 everyone would need to switch to linux 🙂

yankinwaoz says:

admfubar…

Please elaborate how running linux would eliminate spam. Because it won’t.

I assume that you mean that a linux client would be less likely to be turned into a spam spewing zombie on a bot net. The problem with that assumption is that if 90% of computers were linux, then the botnets would simple attack them since they would be the largest attack surface. Also, there are also other ways to get emails out on the net other than botnets of Windows boxes.

Lastly, it ain’t gonna happen. So lets deal with reality.

The problem is that email was poorly designed. When they made it, no one thought of spam, botnets, etc. The solution is to fix email, regardless of the OS the servers and clients run.

I think the only way for this to work is to only allow registered email servers to generate and authenticate mail. They will have to charge money, not a lot, that will be paid from your internet access fees. Unless there is a financial costs to generating spam, it will not end.

Most people don’t generate thousands of emails. They won’t even feel $1 a month or so for a registered email account. But it would eliminate the profit margin for spammers.

Failure to do this means the end of email, at least internet email. The only email systems left will be private email systems on intranets where a company controls all the servers, clients, and emails never leave the company intranet.

Loupe Garou says:

#5 Yep GMail does a good job. But it does not remove spam from the infrastructure and that is where the real cost is, pushing that crap around the globe every day.

ECA says:

<800 million in ASIA??
252 million in the USA?? THAT is ACCESS, not users. Thats every man/women/child in the USA, has ACCESS..from dialup to Sat..There are at least 20% that dont WANT/USE the internet.

1.7 billion users?? 25% of the world uses the net..cool. Thats NOT the NUMBER that can access, thats USERS?

247billion spam?? thats only 147 spam per person for the WHOLE year..Less then 1 every 3 days?? Even if you focused on EUROPE and the USA, it would be 1.01 per day..

Some of these numbers dont add very well, do they?

yankinwaoz says:

#6… I know. I use Gmail too. But Gmail is paying bucks to pay engineers to battle spammers. Over 90% of the load on email servers is spam. We are paying for it anyhow with our ISP fees. ISP’s and corporations have to pay staff and service to constantly combat spam.

The only solution is to charge for email to kill the profit in spam. Google, companies, and ISP’s can refuse all email that doesn’t come from registered, paying members.

True, it won’t stop stupid emails from idiots. But it will kill the 70% of email that is now pure spam.

ECA says:

#10,
Sence TONS of the spam is from ROBOTS(computers taken over and doing stuff in the background) or USING SERVICES, its very hard to trace most of the emails.
What would be cool, is at the ISP and major Junctions of the internet..that the ISP, check its OWN outgoing emails for proper addresses.

Another solution goes like this..
FOLLOW the link, and DEMAND the information.
These folks have to be paid, and they have to have a WAY to give money to the spammers.

The problem we have, is NOT tracking and finding. its OTHER NATIONS and BANKS.
Then having 1 person with enough POWER to cut access to the NATION or BANK or ISP..