[COLUG] another anti-spam link

[Rob Stampfli]

On Thu, Nov 29, 2007 at 08:46:49AM -0500, Rob Funk wrote:
> Duane wrote:
> > Let me get this right, you advocate the use of RBLs, but not something
> > that works in a similar fashion? :)
> 
> I like RBLs, but only RBLs that list actual spammers (and have a mechanism 
> for getting off the list when you've mended your ways), not RBLs that 
> list dynamic addresses.  Basically I'm very much an 
> innocent-until-proven-guilty kind of guy.

Here's what I do:  I list several MX records in ascending order
of preference.  On the primary MX, I follow Rob's advice and am
fairly conservative about which RBLs I use, so as not to
inadvertantly reject any legitimate sites.  However, on the last
MX on the list, I use some very aggressive RBLs to weed out
anything that even hints of being spam.  My rationale is that
there is little likelihood that that someone following the proper
protocols and attempting to deliver legitimate mail will wind up
at the last MX on the list -- all my other servers would have to
be down for that to happen.  But spammers often explicitly choose
these backup servers, believing them to be less protected than
the main servers.  So, the last server on my list is a sort of
honeypot, one designed explicitly to attract and reject spammers.

Rob