RE: Yet another thread on the legality of port scanning

["Mortis" <m0rtis () adelphia net>]

> Are you arguing that any service offered over the
> internet is tacit approval for *everyone* to use
> that service?

Yes.  Although I would substitute 'attempt to use'.

Any program listening for traffic on a public ip address
should expect contact from any other public ip address.
It's not controllable from the listening end.

Access control is the responsibility of the service
provider.  Connections can be restricted based on many
criteria (IP, password, token, certificate, etc) if desired.

> Assuming that my interpretation of your writing
> is correct, you would support unsolicited bulk
> email.  After all, you have an email address
> and your mail server (or the firewall through
> which it passes) has a public IP address, right?
> After all, I got your email and I'm not on your
> private netweork.

Oh, sure, make me support the spammers. ;)

A spammer has just as much right to send a syn packet to my
port 25 as anyone else.  I don't need to accept the
connection or the message.

I can set up a mail server that will only accept messages
from a special 'white list' of senders.  Or one that
requires SSL with client authentication.

I can still complain about most unsolicited commercial
email.  It is usually a violation of their TOS.

Here are some internet phishers:
http://www.archive.org/
http://www.opte.org/
http://news.netcraft.com/
http://www.isi.edu/scan/mercator/maps.html
http://www.google.com/bot.html

Should they be shut down?
--
Mortis


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