<![CDATA[[SecurityRatty] tag: ferris]]> http://securityratty.com/tag/ferris Wed, 21 May 2008 12:26:50 +0000 iRatty Engine http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[One Spam to rule them all!]]> http://securityratty.com/article/98ecd80e92097113f4263e7aaaa199fb http://securityratty.com/article/98ecd80e92097113f4263e7aaaa199fb If we only had a dollar for each spam we recieved, we could end the worlds money crisis!
clipped from www.crime-research.org
40 Trillion Spam E-mails This Year

ComputerWorld did a nice story called Spam Filters: Making Them Work relying on the Ferris numbers. However, the lesson we should learn is buried deeper in the details: spam is no longer a nuisance that clogs inboxes, it’s a security issue. The majority of spam messages now try to breach security on the computer reading the message, or redirect the user to a Web site full of malware etc.
  blog it

Feed Ads By BidVertiser.comFeed Ads By BidVertiser.com

]]> Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:37:02 +0000 spam spam messages trillion spam e-mails spam filters worlds money crisis security issue breach security clogs inboxes web site One Spam to rule them all! <![CDATA[Don't Mix MX And CNAME Records]]> http://securityratty.com/article/004725fe5a13e6eeac176518aa1a62ec http://securityratty.com/article/004725fe5a13e6eeac176518aa1a62ec RFC 2821, which defines how email should be delivered, causes problems for some users, according to Ferris Research. In their first blog on the subject they relate a story of someone (names are expunged to protect the innocent from embarrassment) who decided to configure his DNS with both an MX record (which advertises the mail server) and a CNAME record defining where the web server was. More specifically, the CNAME defined "the-domain-in-question.com." to be "www.the-domain-in-question.com", the IP address of which was defined in a separate A record. After this, Mr. Anonymous's e-mail wasn't consistently reaching the mail server anymore. Some external servers were no longer finding the mail server. The problem turns out to be that when a server has a CNAME record some sending mail servers will attempt to connect to that and not to the server pointed to by the MX record. So in the example, the outside mail was being sent to the web server, which of course didn't respond to it. The problem, says Ferris, is in an ambiguity in RFC 2821. They have a point. The SMTP standard seems to recommend against mixing CNAME and MX records, but it doesn't prohibit it, and it's unclear on how the server should behave when it finds both. Bottom line: Don't mix them.

]]> Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:59:33 +0000 mail mail server anymore mail servers e-mail mail server server cname web server record Don't Mix MX And CNAME Records <![CDATA[8 ways to fight spam filter frustration]]> http://securityratty.com/article/15a29dfce7de2df52c4a078d113dac89 http://securityratty.com/article/15a29dfce7de2df52c4a078d113dac89 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:00:00 +0000 spam trillion spam messages trillion content control ferris research significant increase billion worldwide spreads malware in-boxes 8 ways to fight spam filter frustration <![CDATA[Will Retention Policies Go Away?]]> http://securityratty.com/article/e042a684cfe633270ad52e20024b73ae http://securityratty.com/article/e042a684cfe633270ad52e20024b73ae my interview with Judge John Facciola of the DC Circuit he was clear about this, while pointing out that a document hold over pending litigation changes matters of course. But such policies may be more trouble than they're worth. As David Ferris of Ferris Research argues, the very small, and diminishing cost of storage makes it a tough choice to try to enforce such policies. It's easier and maybe even cheaper to get a policy of retaining everything right than to get your own retention policies right, and to implement them consistently. He actually predicts that most organizations will abandon retention policies. (The blog then inexplicably ends with three bulleted reasons not to abandon them.)
]]> Wed, 21 May 2008 12:26:50 +0000 retention policies policies abandon retention policies abandon ferris research argues judge john facciola david ferris tough choice lawyers talk Will Retention Policies Go Away?