We’ve followed the work of Knujon, CircleID, and SpamCop for several years, now it appears they’re making some substantial advances in the war against pill spammers and rogue registrars who harbor spam and malware purveyors. Here are some of the latest developments
Policy Change at Godaddy
One line, 14 words may signal the beginning of the end for pill spammers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Last week we witnessed the modification of Godaddys Terms of Use (TOS) to include a specific prohibition against sites selling drugs without a prescription. This is the first such policy we are aware of and may soon become normal policy at U.S. Registrars and possibly all Registrars.
This is clearly the result of constant pressure from KnujOn and other groups. Godaddy is following through with its policy by dumping hundreds of core illegal pharmacy sites and the spammers are already complaining in their underground forums. You can follow our explanation of the problem as it relates to spam and the Registrars here:
* continue reading :: Garth Bruen for Knujon / CircleID
XinNet Imploding?
First off you should know that KnujOn does not support the wholesale denial of free speech frequently seen in China, but the government there is finally taking a close look at Xinnet activities and not liking what they see there:
Xinnet has been at the top of the KnujOn naughty list for some time! Because of the extreme volume of abuse at Xinnet, the Chinese coordination center has suspended Xinnets ability to sell .CN domains. This is in effect what KnujOn requested ICANN do to Xinnet in terms of .COM some time ago (1)(2)
* continue reading :: www.thestandard.com
Illicit U.S. Host Cleaned By KnujOn
In another silent victory, the KnujOn process identified a U.S.-based company that was hosting 85 pharmacy spam template sites. These sites would not have been identified by other anti-spam blacklisting services because of the low-level nature of their support for large illicit networks. These were in-effect content stores for spam domains that could be accessed and used over and over without being exposed.
Because this company cooperated with us we are not releasing details at this time. In a related story, HostExplot has published their 50 worst ISPs, 20 of whom are in the U.S.
* continue reading :: hostexploit.com
Online Games Blamed
China’s state news channel has blamed hugely popular online games for problems including drug addiction, teen pregnancy and even murder this month as regulators crack down on allegedly harmful content in games.
In a program titled “Confession of a Murderer — Focus on Pornography and Violence in Online Games (Part Two),” China Central Television (CCTV) on Thursday reported on a Beijing juvenile prison where one man was serving a life sentence for murders he committed to obtain virtual equipment in an online game.
* continue reading :: Owen Fletcher – IDG News Service / IT World
More Browser Controls
OTA is asking the FTC for standardized privacy and more browser controls — recommends a three-fold approach. The Online Trust Alliance today submitted public comments supporting the upcoming FTC Privacy Roundtable to be held on January 28th in Berkeley, California.
OTA recommends a three-fold approach; 1) advancement of a standardized Privacy & Data Collection Statement, 2) Increased integration of privacy based browser controls and 3) encourage businesses to advise consumers to upgrade when using insecure browsers.
* continue reading :: www.nextgov.com
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