SpammerSkewer
It's time for us to take back the Net
from the creeps, spammers, phishers, and other criminals.
Main Page Help Discussion forum
Let's hit 'em where it
counts - In the pocketbook!
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Q: How does SpammerSkewer work? A: SpammerSkewer works by following instructions downloaded from a peer to peer network. These instructions are tailored to specific websites that are commonly advertised in spam. These instructions tell SpammerSkewer which pages to visit on a specific site as well as how to input complaint data into the sales forms on these spamvertised websites. SpammerSkewer gets these instructions from other computers that are also running SpammerSkewer. SpammerSkewer will check with other peers (computers) for new instruction as well as information on how to contact yet even more computers that run SpammerSkewer. SpammerSkewer keeps a list of up to 1000 other computer from which it can trade instruction information. Instruction are cryptographically signed in order to prevent malicious tampering. SpammerSkewer strives to send only one complaint to advertised sites for each spam received. Spam can be reported by either copying the email or email attachment. Your IP address will be available to the network unless you set up an anonymising proxy. Making one's ip address available online is a common occurance. Your IP address is available to any website you visit. The same thing is true with just about any other program that uses the Net. SpammerSkewer will complain by looking at emails that contain advertised websites in SpammerSkewer's spam folder or it can by activated manually via SpammerSkewer's reporting program. Please see the help file on how to do this. Q: How is SpammerSkewer's author getting paid if the program is free? A: The programmer is also a website operator as well as an email provider. The author, by going after spammers, hopes to reduce expenses incurred by his business because of spam. It is the hope of the programmer that the program speaks for itself. The programmer hopes that SpammerSkewer will reduce spam by making spam unprofitable for those who currently profit by bugging millions online. Q: Can't spammers block computers running SpammerSkewr from accessing their websites? A: Yes they can.. Blocking a couple of computers is a simple task. Blocking thousands of individual ip addresses or networks becomes another matter. Computer memory or harddrive space is required to store the information about blocked ip's or networks. Also, it takes processing time to sift through the list of blocked ip's and networks. The computer that serves the spamvertised website has to devote time to looking up blocked ip's and networks as well. Blocking too many or the wrong ip's or networks can also prevent those wishing to purchase items advertised via spam from getting through. Besides, in order for the spamvertised website to be able to block an ip or network, that site has to be visited by SpammerSpewer. This means that the blocking has occured after bandwidth usage. By forcing spammers to either deal with bandwidth usage (caused by complaints) or filter their traffic, we the spam receipients put the onus back where it belongs - with those who advertise via spam. Q: How do I know that SpammerSkewer is not stealing information from my computer or will show advertisements? A: Excellent question. Unlike some programs that are freely downloadable, SpammerSkewer's source code is available for examination by any person. As far as the program itself and what it does, the programmer has nothing to hide. Q: How much does SpammerSkewer cost? A: SpammerSkewer is available at no cost whatsoever. Not only is it free to use, but it is also free to redistribute, and you can even resell it without paying any royalties. SpammerSkewer is licenced under the GPL. Q: What set's this program apart from the myriads of other antispam programs? A: This program is not a filter or a firewall designed to keep spam from hitting one's email inbox. Rather, this program gives users who are fed up with spam the chance to hit back! A bully who picks on those smaller than him has no incentive to stop hitting others when they simply throw their hands in front of their faces to soften the blows. However, when a bunch of people gang up on the bully and hit him back, the bully has a strong incentive to quit tormenting others! This is what SpammerSkewer does - it hits back! There have been other programs that have hit back within recent years. These programs did a great job, but they usually had the same weakness as the spammers - that is, they depend upon a website for updates and instructions. SpammerSkewer is different in this regard. Rather than retrieving instructions from a central website, computers running SpammerSkewer receive updated instructions from each other. These instruction updates are protected from malicious modification because they are cryptographically signed. Q: What operating systems will SpammerSkewer run on? A: It will run on any operating system that supports the standard Java virtual machine. If you do not have Java installed, you can download it at http://java.sun.com you want the J2SE that is available for your operating system. Q: Is this what is called a distributed denial of service attack? If so, isn't it illegal? A: No, this is not a denial of service attack. Spammers have much control over how many visits that are made by SpammerSkewer. Spammers get visited ONLY when they send spam that triggers SpammerSkewer or if users manually complain about spam received. Programs that conduct distributed denial of service attacks visit whenever they are told to do so by the person controlling the attack program. SpammerSkewer's instruction only tell SpammerSkewer how to complain - they do not actually instruct the program to complain. The task of actually telling SpammerSkewer to complain is done by the spam receipient. The one thing that CANSPAM has done for the peoples' benefit is allow them to "opt out" from spam and complain about spam . This is what SpammerSkewer was created to do. Q: How do I know 100% that this program will not open me up to legal process? A: To be honest, there is no 100% guarantee. In this corrupt legal and political system, anyone can sue anyone for anything. However, if a spammer sues a user running this program, which user out of thousands (or even millions) will it be? Many spammers advertise products that are ouright illegal or counterfeit. In addition, most forms of spam has been deemed illegal in the United States and Europe. Does the spammer really want to identify him or herself to the public or authorities in court? Q: What information about me is available to other if I run SpammerSkewer? A: Your IP address will be available to the network unless you set up an anonymising proxy. Making one's ip address available online is a common occurance. Your IP address is available to any website you visit. The same thing is true with just about any other program that uses the Net. Q: Why does the programmer wish to remain anonymous? A: The programmer is a person who has limited resources. Spammers are usually unethical scumbags who have little compunction with attacking those who have written programs that hit them in the pocketbook. Spammers have engaged in illegal businesses such as organized crime, child trafficking, writing viruses, selling counterfeit products, and so on. Spammers also have a huge advantage when it comes to bandwith and computer computer resources - they have stolen these from millions of computer users by infecting them with malware. People running SpammerSkewer should be protected from this threat due to the fact that there is very little use in going after an individual user. Unlike millions of individual users, there are about 200 spammers responsable for most of the world's spam. Even with only a few thousand users running SpammerSkewer, it would be impractical for spammers to try to knock the SpammerSkewer network offline. |