[LINK] Fwd: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)

[Adam Todd]

> > Hey, maybe we should put up web pages with endless random email addresses
> > made up of non existent domains and let the SPAMMERS farm them.  This 
> might
> > decrease the volume of spam, simply by increasing the number of incorrect
> > undeliverable email addresses?
>
>The only problem with that is the large amount of spam that goes out
>with forged headers of REAL domains. I have had several 'occurrences' of
>spam going out with forged interweft headers, resulting in heaps of
>'returned' email resulting in thousands of msgs a day for several
>days...

So what you are saying is that someone used your mail servers to route 
spam?  Of do you mean someone used your domain name as the return path for 
bounced spam?

I think the key here is to explode into the farmers a less that good crop 
of addresses.  Open relays may suffer greatly, however it does mean they 
won't be sending as many positive matched messages, as opposed to the high 
number of non deliverable addresses.

Sure they might use your domain for forged headers, however, it only takes 
a few seconds to update filters in such situations.

We tend to be lazy with filter update when we're getting a few SPAM's from 
a variety of sources.  With a DUMP of bounced messages using a forged 
header, you get a LOT for a long period of time, and hence can block them 
at the input phase.

These days I filter postmaster to a junk folder anyway.  It no longer seems 
to serve a useful purpose.

I have 1900 bounce messages in my junk folder since December last year.  So 
in three months, just bounces alone are around the 900 a month mark.  Not 
as bad as the SPAM itself, but it does mean I no longer look at the 
messages as an administrator because, well, I don't have time to read an 
additional 900 junk messages.  If I read those, I might as well read the 
SPAM as well.