ISP Association Issues Recommendations On Spam

Recently, the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA UK) issued new proposals for managing unsolicited bulk email (UBE), generally known as spam.

Spam is the focus of the latest report by ISPA that urges its members to undertake better measures to tackle spam and teach clients methods of preventing their computers from becoming 'bots'.

According to the ISPA, to tackle spam effectively, the cyberspace industry, the government, law enforcement authorities and specially customers must all act in accord. Efficient laws sanctioning action against unrelenting spammers should support the steps undertaken by ISPA to tackle spam.

ISPA Council's Chairperson Jessica Hendrie-Liaño, clarifies in a report issued in net4now, on April 4, 2007, "ISPs are adopting measures to handle the problematic UBE's. ISPs are cutting down spam emails by ascertaining that their email systems don't convey messages for unauthorized third parties and emails created inside their network can be retraced to their origin."

"Nevertheless, consumers can also play a significant part by safeguarding their computers and informing instances of UBE. Efficient abuse measures should be there to ensure effortless reporting. Consumers should be taught about the types of UBE, ways of safeguarding their computers with firewalls and anti-virus programs. Also, they need to be apprized about other facilities offered by their ISPs to facilitate a significant reduction of UBE's."

ISPA recommends users to shield their personal computers with safety measures such as firewalls. This keeps them from being transformed into computers controlled by spammers, developing a clear passage, letting the PC to be taken over and utilized to send unsolicited e-mails and transfer malwares. Latest reports prove that spammers exploit hijacked computers to circulate above 80 percent spam on the 'Internet.

One such recommendation suggests that ISPA members should ascertain that emails originating from their particular network might be ascribed to a specific user or system, so as to block UBE at the origin.

As per Mrs. Hendrie-Liaño, "ISPs detest spam as it depletes precious bandwidth, endangers reliability of a network and impacts mail servers functioning. ISPs and their consumers should be prepared to spend quite a substantial amount of time and wealth on spam fighting."

Related article: ISPA Publishes Recommendations to Beat Spam

» SPAMfighter News - 4/12/2007