It's Just this Little Chromium Switch Here

Link: Verisign redirects error pages.

Verisign, the operator of the largest databases for Internet domains, has taken greed to a new level. This week, they implemented a new service to squat on domain typos, and cavalierly broke major Internet functions in the process. Their service, called Site Finder, redirects web queries for non-existent domains to a web site they manage. They will be able to make money by showing you advertising when you make an error typing in a URL. The change, however, creates signficant havoc.

I've estimated my spam load will go up about 6.25% because of Verisign greed. Spammers can get into trouble if they forge a return address using a valid domain. So spammers often use an invalid domain in their return address. That's good news, because bogus domains are easily recognized and mail from them can be bounced as spam.

Verisign broke that. Now, when the mail server checks on a bogus domain, it no longer gets a "no such domain" response. Instead, the mail server gets a response saying the domain is valid, and it points to a Verisign mail server. This means the checks for forged domains no longer work, and all that spam that used to be bounced out of hand will now be accepted.

The Verisign change is going to create confusion for my users. Before, if they made a typo in a the domain part of an email address, my mail server would intercept it and return an error. Now, the message is going to be passed along to a Verisign mail server, which is going to cause a misleading error. The user is going to be told the user does not exist, rather than the domain is invalid.

Verisign has shown continued arrogance and hubris in their management of the Domain Name System. Unfortunately, the organizations that oversee them have been ineffectual in their management. This time, however, they may have pushed too far. The Internet Software Consortium which writes the software that runs most of the DNS, is preparing a new version that will filter out the bogus Verisign responses. I expect this will be deployed quickly, so that network operators can route around the damage created by Verisign.

For the last many years, I used an old 486DX-33 computer as a router between my local network and the Internet. I powered it down yesterday, but when I tried to bring it back the disk wouldn't spin up. Can't really blame it. That computer should have received an honorable burial sometime last decade.

The failure of my old router presented an opportunity to try out a new operating system, because: a) I like to turn a bad situation into a positive experience, b) I like to take bad situations and make them even more complicated, or c) pain is my friend. (correct answer: b)

Things with the kitty have gone from unhappy to worse. I'm trying to avoid negative predictions about the outcomes, but I am steeling myself for the worst.

Link: Can Texas Lasso Spam?

The linked article, from the Foat Wurth Startlegram, discusses the pending Texas spam law and quotes me being skeptical.

It says the Texas Attorney General office is ready to go after some spammer hide. Unfortunately, I'm not getting a lot of comfort that they know how to go about doing it--let alone have a plan in place.

For instance, the mechanism they have setup for collecting spam complaints (report via phone or web form) is exactly wrong. People who collect spam complaints know most spam victims don't submit actionable spam reports. Heck, most spam victims will admit it themselves. I'll be surprised if more than 10% of the reports they receive by these mechanisms include the trace information necessary for a spam investigation.

I think the FTC model is superior, where they setup a general mailbox uce [at] ftc [dot] gov to feed a collection that can be used for data mining.

I'm pleased the reporter presented my position accurately, unlike the recent TV news story on the law. There were two key points I wanted to make, and I'm glad to see they were reported. First, this is a weak law, one of the weakest in the nation. Second, this is not a law that prohibits spam, but rather enables it.