Re: Yahoo! -- A "Phisher-friendly" hosting domain?

[Rich Kulawiec <rsk () gsp org>]

Two comments.

<soapbox>

First, it's everyone's responsibility to do what's necessary
to prevent their operation from being an abuse source, vector,
or support service.  That includes registrars, web hosts, DNS
providers, email services, consumer ISPs, webmail services,
corporations, end-users -- *everyone*.  Nobody gets a pass.

Of course, this isn't what's happening: and that's why abuse
is such a massive problem.  If people actually (gasp!) began
running their operations in a responsible manner (starting with
very simple and easy measures like "read your abuse mailbox
and take immediate action on all reported problems") then all
these issues would of course still exist -- but at greatly
reduced levels.  However, it seems that many prefer to implicitly
support abuse by doing nothing...that is, until their network
neighbors grow tired of their inaction, and decide to put a
cork in it by collaboratively blacklisting them -- at which point,
the typical response, instead of being a contrite admission of
long-term systemic failure, is plaintive, mock-outraged whining
about how terribly unfair it all is.

</soapbox>

Second, it appears to me that Yahoo may be contending with Microsoft
for the title of "largest spam-and-abuse support operation on
the Internet".  Both are completely infested with abusers of
all descriptions, not just in the freemail operations, but their
mailing lists, web hosting, etc.  Both have established very
long track records of not just failing to take action, but
*refusing* to take action, even when someone else does their job
for them, compiles the applicable evidence, and presents it to
them.  (Search, for example, the Google archives of Usenet for
either "yahoo clueless" or "hotmail clueless" for more examples
than any sane person, or even Fergie ;-),  would ever want to read.)

Here's a recent note (courtesy of John Levine) which is complementary
to the one previously presented concerning Yahoo:

        From: johnl () iecc com (John R. Levine)
        Newsgroups: news.admin.net-abuse.email
        Subject: Re: Microsoft -- starting to support spam?
        Date: 24 Aug 2005 11:25:40 -0400

        [...]

        The other day I collected a list of domains hosted by MSN.  Here's a
        few.  If you were in the domain hosting business, would you let your
        customers register and use these?  Microsoft did.

        MY-EBAY-EBAY.COM
        MY-EBAY-SIGNIN-BILLING-ACCOUNT.COM
        MY-EBAYAUCTION.COM
        MYEBAY-EBAY.COM
        ONLINE-EBAY-ESCROW.COM
        ONLINEAUCTIONSONEBAY.COM
        ONLINESAFETY-EBAY.COM
        PAYMENT-CONFIRM-EBAY.COM
        PAYMENT-DEPARTAMENT-EBAY.COM
        PAYMENT-DEPARTMENT-EBAY.COM
        PAYMENT-EBAYALERT.COM
        PAYMENTS-EBAY-SQUARETRADE.COM
        PAYMENTSUPPORT-EBAY.COM
        PLANETEBAY-VERIFICATION.COM
        PLANETEBAYONLINE.COM
        PURCHASE-EBAYSQUARETRADE.COM
        REACTIVE-EBAY.COM
        SAFE-DEPARTAMENT-EBAY.COM
        SAFE-SQUARETRADE-EBAYDEALS.COM
        SAFEDEALS-EBAYSQUARETRADE.COM
        SAFEDEPARTAMENT-EBAY.COM
        SAFEHARBOR-EBAYCENTRAL.COM
        SAFETY-PROTECTION-EBAY.COM
        SAFETYTEAM-EBAY.COM
        SCGI-EBAY-EBAYISAPI-DLL.COM

        PAYPAL-ACCOUNT-8414SWQ9.COM
        PAYPAL-ACCOUNT-SA435QS.COM
        PAYPAL-ACCOUNTINGS.COM
        PAYPAL-ACCOUNTS-UPDATE.COM
        PAYPAL-ALERT.COM
        PAYPAL-CONFIRMATION-ID-0746795.COM
        PAYPAL-CONFIRMATION-ID-PP0746S795.COM
        PAYPAL-CONFIRMATION-ID-PP4145570.COM
        PAYPAL-FRAUD-ALERT.COM
        PAYPAL-INTL-SERVICE.COM
        PAYPAL-MEMBER-SERVICES.COM
        PAYPAL-SECURES-UPDATES.COM

        R's,
        John

Keep this in mind when anyone from either Yahoo or Microsoft pretends
to somehow be interested in "anti-spam" or "anti-phishing" activities.
Neither has demonstrated, to date, the slightest inclination or ability
to even keep its own operation relatively free of spammers, phishers,
etc. despite having at its fingertips the cumulative work of a large
number of netizens who have diligently reported these problems to them.
It's thus completely disengenuous of them to feign any interest in
doing so on an Internet-wide basis.

---Rsk