法国资助开源软件 向垃圾邮件宣战

     法国希望能通过更为快速的系统打击垃圾邮件发送者。当用户发现不明电邮时，可以方便地向ISP发出提示。

      负责开发Signal Spam项目的专家Graham-Cumming称，法国政府出资帮助开发面向微软Outlook和Mozilla公司雷鸟电邮系统的开源软件，用户可以使用这种软件报告可疑垃圾。

      他指出：“法国政府认为，垃圾邮件与其它犯罪活动一样会危害法国人民。”当前，绝大多数的用户在发现垃圾邮件时只是简单地删除，部分原因是他们没有向ISP发出提示的一种简单工具。SignalSpam项目旨在提供这种工具。

      当用户收到垃圾邮件信息时，工具条就会为用户提供简便的方法向中央数据库发出信息。然后，这些信息就会发到ISP，ISP就会做出是否关闭发送者帐号的决定。据Spamhaus工程公司称，在垃圾邮件数量方面，法国列在第10位。居第一的是美国，其次是中国、俄罗斯和英国。Spamhaus公司发布的列表，可以用在电邮服务器中，阻止那些有名的垃圾IP地址。

      如果垃圾信息来自法国之外的地方，SignalSpam就不会采取措施。如果信息来自合法的开发商，这一系统就会自动地向发送者发出信息，告诉他如何取消电邮列表。该系统是否取得成功，很大程度上取决于人们是否乐意安装这种工具条。自这项计划于今年5月推出以来，已有350万垃圾电邮被收到数据库中，而这些数据则可以用于分析垃圾邮件的发展趋势。

      到今年年底，SignalSpam将为微软的电邮系统Outlook Express推出一款工具条。同时，Signal Spam也正在与网络电邮提供商，诸如微软和Google等进行合作会谈，讨论建立垃圾邮件提示机制。

      在未来几个月内，邮件服务器会对做出垃圾邮件的趋势判断，帮助业界更好地打击垃圾邮件活动。最终，Signal Spam可以更快速地关闭钓鱼网站。为了引诱用户透露个人信息，垃圾邮件经常吸引用户登陆到欺诈网站。

(原文)

France is hoping to shut down spammers more quickly through a system that makes it easier for users to notify ISPs (Internet service providers) when unsolicited e-mails are coming from their network.

The French government funded the development of an open-source toolbar for Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook and Mozilla Corp.'s Thunderbird e-mail programs that people can use to report suspected spam, said John Graham-Cumming, an Englishman who built the software for the project, called Signal Spam.

"From the French perspective, spam is like any other criminal activity that is affecting the French people," Graham-Cumming said.

Most users today simply delete spam email from their inboxes, in part because they don't have a simple tool for reporting spam to their ISP. The SignalSpam project aims to provide them with such a tool.

When users receive spam messages, the toolbar provides an easy way for them to forward the message to a central database. The messages are then sent to the ISP whose network they originated from, and the ISP decides whether to shut down the account of the sender, Graham-Cumming said.

France is ranked as the 10th worst country for generating spam, according to The Spamhaus Project Ltd., which publishes a list that can be used in e-mail servers to block known spamming IP (Internet protocol) addresses. The U.S. is the worst, followed by China, Russia and the U.K.

If a spam message originates outside of France, SignalSpam takes no action. If a message comes from a legitimate marketer, the system can send an automated response to the person who reported it telling them how to unsubscribe to the mailing list, Graham-Cumming said. Marketers are encouraged to register with Signal Spam.

The system's success will depend on people's willingness to install the tool bar. Since the project launched in May, about 3.5 million spam e-mails have been collected in the database, which can be used to generate statistics on spam trends.

By the end of the year, Signal Spam plans to release a toolbar for Outlook Express, another Microsoft e-mail client, Graham-Cumming said. Signal Spam is also in talks with Web-based e-mail providers, such as Microsoft and Google Inc., on developing a reporting mechanism.

Some ISPs have been accused of profiting by allowing spammers to use their network, while other ISPs don't take action against spammers due to the expense of shutting them down. However, Signal Spam has received broad support from French ISPs, according to Graham-Cumming.

In the next couple months he expects the database to start to reveal spam trends that could shed greater light on how to stop the problem.

Eventually, Signal Spam may also turn its attention to closing phishing sites more quickly. Spam e-mails often try to entice people to a fraudulent Web site in order to trick them into divulging their personal information.