Spammer Update

In Blazon 15 we reported that major bulk-email ('spam') firm Cyber Promotions had been cut off by their Internet provider, AGIS. A court hearing ruled that, since some of the connections from AGIS were provided under a contract that allowed for 30 days' notice of termination, those connections must be restored until the expiry of those 30 days. This meant that two of the three lines involved were back online until 16th October.

Sanford Wallace, head of Cyber Promotions, and other well-known bulk-email providers, have expressed interest in forming their own Internet backbone so that they will not be bound by other providers' terms and conditions, most of which prohibit the sending of bulk or junk email. They would have to arrange some connections to other networks, however, or their mail would not be able to reach anyone on the rest of the Internet; it seems unlikely that any of the major providers would wish to exchange traffic with such a network. As ever, we will keep you informed.