Microsoft suing Hotmail spammers - GoFuckYourself.com

hershie · 02-18-2003, 06:15 PM

Microsoft going after Hotmail spammers

By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 18, 2003, 5:00 PM PT

Microsoft is turning up the heat on spam, filing a lawsuit to go after people it suspects of having harvested e-mail addresses from its Hotmail servers to spam those subscribers.
Microsoft on Thursday filed a so-called John Doe suit in the federal court for the northern district of California in San Jose. The suit doesn't name defendants, which allows the plaintiff the power to issue subpoenas as part of the investigative phase of the trial.

The defendants are accused of using a "dictionary attack" to discover active Hotmail accounts. A dictionary attack is one in which a computer program goes through every entry in a dictionary in an attempt to guess passwords. In this case, the program guessed millions of random e-mail addresses to see which ones were active, Microsoft alleged.

Microsoft filed the suit the same week it called on legislators to pass laws forbidding the practice of spam-address harvesting.

"We are intensifying our efforts to cooperate with other ISPs in fighting spam, and working with government to enforce current laws against it," Microsoft wrote in an essay dated Wednesday. "But new, strong laws are needed. At a minimum, senders should not be allowed to misrepresent their identity, falsify the subject of a message, or use automated means to gather e-mail addresses without the owners' consent."

In the absence of such a law, Microsoft relied on existing federal statutes including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The company also made trade secrets and trespassing claims.

Internet service providers and individuals alike have increasingly turned to the law to fight unsolicited commercial e-mail.

AOL Time Warner's America Online unit, for example, in April won an injunction and secured a "significant" monetary settlement against a spammer. EarthLink in July secured a judgment worth more than $24 million in a comparable case.

Microsoft said that legal action was only one part of its antispam campaign.

"No one thing is going to the answer," said a Microsoft representative. "Not filters alone, or education, or the law. Microsoft thinks a multipronged approach is going to be the most effective."

http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1023-...&subj=cnetnews

TheJimmy · 02-18-2003, 11:18 PM

let the games begin

Interlude · 02-18-2003, 11:28 PM

Rochard · 02-18-2003, 11:33 PM

Is this a lawsuit or a payoff? Don't believe everything you read. Do the math and read between the lines.

oldtimer · 02-18-2003, 11:34 PM

Its about time.

02-18-2003, 06:15 PM	#1
hershie Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,642	Microsoft suing Hotmail spammers Microsoft going after Hotmail spammers By Paul Festa Staff Writer, CNET News.com February 18, 2003, 5:00 PM PT Microsoft is turning up the heat on spam, filing a lawsuit to go after people it suspects of having harvested e-mail addresses from its Hotmail servers to spam those subscribers. Microsoft on Thursday filed a so-called John Doe suit in the federal court for the northern district of California in San Jose. The suit doesn't name defendants, which allows the plaintiff the power to issue subpoenas as part of the investigative phase of the trial. The defendants are accused of using a "dictionary attack" to discover active Hotmail accounts. A dictionary attack is one in which a computer program goes through every entry in a dictionary in an attempt to guess passwords. In this case, the program guessed millions of random e-mail addresses to see which ones were active, Microsoft alleged. Microsoft filed the suit the same week it called on legislators to pass laws forbidding the practice of spam-address harvesting. "We are intensifying our efforts to cooperate with other ISPs in fighting spam, and working with government to enforce current laws against it," Microsoft wrote in an essay dated Wednesday. "But new, strong laws are needed. At a minimum, senders should not be allowed to misrepresent their identity, falsify the subject of a message, or use automated means to gather e-mail addresses without the owners' consent." In the absence of such a law, Microsoft relied on existing federal statutes including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The company also made trade secrets and trespassing claims. Internet service providers and individuals alike have increasingly turned to the law to fight unsolicited commercial e-mail. AOL Time Warner's America Online unit, for example, in April won an injunction and secured a "significant" monetary settlement against a spammer. EarthLink in July secured a judgment worth more than $24 million in a comparable case. Microsoft said that legal action was only one part of its antispam campaign. "No one thing is going to the answer," said a Microsoft representative. "Not filters alone, or education, or the law. Microsoft thinks a multipronged approach is going to be the most effective." http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1023-...&subj=cnetnews

02-18-2003, 11:33 PM	#4
Rochard Jägermeister Test Pilot Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: NORCAL Posts: 74,092	Is this a lawsuit or a payoff? Don't believe everything you read. Do the math and read between the lines. __________________ “The choice is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal and crazy.” - Sarah Huckabee Sanders YNOT MAIL \| THE BEST ADULT MAILING SOLUTION

02-18-2003, 11:34 PM	#5
oldtimer Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 250	Its about time. __________________ Im here to help surfers find relevant content

02-18-2003, 11:18 PM	#2
TheJimmy ICQ- five seven 0 2 5 5 0 Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 10,747	let the games begin

02-18-2003, 11:28 PM	#3
Interlude Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: State of Denial Posts: 1,147