[Tfug] Anyone using KnujOn? (was: Re: Need help with an install)

rfs_lists at mac.com rfs_lists at mac.com
Thu Mar 29 23:21:19 MST 2007


On Mar 29, 2007, at 9:25 pm, Stephen Hooper wrote:

> On 3/29/07, rfs_lists at mac.com <rfs_lists at mac.com> wrote:
>> See knujon.com. Anyone else signed up with KnujOn's beta? It's
>> working as well as can be expected for my company. Given the rapidly
>> increasing volumes of spam over the last year, we're receiving
>> something like 50% of the volume we were a year ago.
>
> What were you using a year ago?
I wasn't here. Barely nothing. Two or three employees were using Blue  
Frog. To recap, that company attempted to get spammers to conform to  
Blue Frog participants' wishes, but were hit so hard by DDoS attacks  
they had to close shop. During the DDoS, spammers stole Blue Frog  
participants' details and attempted to steal further lists of  
addresses from them using not very sophisticated phishing stuff.

>> From the FAQ:
>
> Does it cost anything?
> At the moment Knujon is free.
>
> Will it be free a year from now?
Hm. I wonder where you got that quote from, because this is the  
current information from http://knujon.com/faq.html#newfaq28

"How much is a KnujOn membership?
"KnujOn is still free and we hope to keep the costs low if fees  
become needed. Even if we do adopt a pricing structure, there will  
always be a free component."

They recently had a survey of registered users asking, among other  
things, what would be an acceptable pricing structure.

> What differentiates this company from the billions of other companies
> that are trying to reduce spam?
Billions. Ah, your famous disparaging tone. Jolly good.

They gather evidence and report it to the appropriate authorities and  
get the spammers' domains closed down. They help law enforcement  
bring cases against spammers and fraudsters by providing technical  
evidence against them.

I have a nagging suspicion this is in the FAQ as well, just a sec...  
Ah! Yes: http://knujon.com/faq.html#faq3 Just above the bit about  
being free and always having a free component.

> What else did you do try to stop spam?
1. Blue Frog -- you know the story with Blue.
2. User education -- you know that story too.
3. Recommended ditching heavily spammed addresses in favour of fresh  
addresses -- still being decided.

> What makes it great enough in your mind that you would actually  
> advocate it?
Don't try to put words in my mouth Stephen -- I didn't "advocate"  
anything, but suggested it in response to Earl's poorly worded  
question. I then politely asked if anyone else was using it because  
it seemed relevant. If something better comes along, I'll go with  
that service.

Anyway, by way of reporting how it's doing (or "What makes it great  
enough" in your words), bear in mind what I already said is in the  
context of email addresses which have been active for several years,  
given to all and sundry, and have in all likelihood been on several  
hundred if not thousand users' Window boxes running Outlook Express.  
Basically, we have a number of email addresses which to all intents  
and purposes, function as spam traps. Yet they can still be used for  
regular correspondence. This makes option #3 above difficult to justify.

Further to that, KnujOn understand how filtering plays into the hands  
of the scammers -- ignoring the problem by filtering and deleting  
doesn't make the business of spamming unworkable. Reporting forensic  
evidence of illegal activities to law enforcement works. Signing up  
helps them do that; helps the law enforcement authorities do their  
jobs, and gets the spammers closed down.

Take a quick look through their news page: http://knujon.com/news

(I realise that talking about KnujOn in a slightly positive light on  
a public forum is going to get this email alias spammed to heck.  
You'll probably see me disappear and reappear sometime.)

Anyway, thanks for asking. If you take it as a recommendation, that's  
your own biz.

cheers,
R.





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