There are many items on preventing spam, but surely the easiest way is for the central DNS server administrators to remove access to the servers the spam points to, effectivly putting them out of business overnight.

Can't be that hard can it? OK I admit there are possible abuse option, but that could be handled with a little common sense....
-- CasaLoco, Sep 24 2002

"Can't be that hard can it? OK I admit there are possible abuse option, but that could be handled with a little common sense...."
Heh.
-- phoenix, Sep 24 2002


Heh, indeed.

To the degree that it is realistic, this is already how it works.

Someone sends you spam, you complain to their e-mail and web providers (after carefully analzying the header and contents to make sure you're complaining to the right party, something that isn't easy for laypeople), and the provider(s) terminates their account for violation of user agreement.

The Domain Name Service system has very little to do with that, though. It's not as centralized as you make it sound (instead, it's a redundant hierarchical system in which updates take quite some time to propagate), and much spam uses, or could just as well use, direct IP addresses that don't need to be translated via DNS - it is much more effective to go through the provider.

Whatever the mechanism, the gap between the spam and the account termination is apparently large enough to make it worth doing.
-- jutta, Sep 25 2002


You've all missed the point... you don't shut down the email accout that sent the message, you simply stop anyone accessing the website the spam directs people to!!!! This could be done centrally at the DNS server... it could simply be set to send all web traffic aimed at that site to a null ip.

eg... if "greatsex.com" had someone spamming 20m people, then the central DNS server would send all that sites traffic to a page that says "Sorry this site has been suspended due to email abuse" thus no more traffic or business.
-- CasaLoco, Sep 27 2002


No no no no. That's just not the way the web works.
-- gozer, Sep 27 2002


I got your point; my third paragraph explains what's wrong with it.
-- jutta, Sep 27 2002


I understood your point in the third paragraph, but the system would be automated (or as near as dammit) so the time difference wouldn't be enought to make any real money.... take the megre profits, deduct the cost setting up the web site, domain, sending emails etc etc
-- CasaLoco, Oct 29 2002


OK, bread please!

AOL have now started doing EXACTLY this.

Sites found to be sending SPAM to AOL accounts are blocked automatically by the AOL proxies.
-- CasaLoco, Mar 26 2004


Actually, I sent a spam report to the SOA for the .org suffix (i.e.: they run the DNS servers that service the .org addresses), and I got an email back telling me that they are forbidden from disconnecting anyone (i.e.: removing the spamvertised website's DNS entry), no matter how egregious their abuse.

So, disconnecting the spammers at the DNS source won't work.
-- hillscap, Apr 02 2004



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