[Chachazz]

Open Letter from Brad Smith, Microsoft General Counsel
Microsoft to expand enforcement efforts against illegal Internet practices.

REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 9, 2005 – Microsoft has released the following text of an open letter from Brad Smith, Microsoft General Counsel:

This week, as a result of legal action by Microsoft and the New York Attorney General against one of the world’s most prolific spammers, Microsoft is expanding its successful partnership with government and law-enforcement authorities against illegal practices on the Internet.

Self-proclaimed “Spam King” Scott Richter has agreed to pay $7 million in damages, pending approval by the court.

After covering our legal expenses for the case, Microsoft will then reinvest every penny from this settlement. We’ll dedicate $5 million dollars to increase our Internet enforcement efforts and expand technical and investigative support to help law enforcement address computer-related crimes.

As this case demonstrates, a strong partnership between the public and private sectors is vital to taking effective action against spam and other Internet problems. By reinvesting these settlement proceeds, we’ll help to make that partnership even stronger.

In appreciation of the role of the New York Attorney General, another $1 million of this settlement money will be directed to New York state through Microsoft Unlimited Potential donations, which help community centers to expand computer-related skills training for youths and adults.

This settlement is a victory for consumers who rely on the Internet because it also means fewer unwanted e-mails in your inbox. Richter has agreed to send e-mail only to those who have requested it, complying fully with all federal and state anti-spam laws. Before changing his practices, Richter sent, and assisted others in sending, more than 38 billion e-mails a year.

This one legal victory will not end spam, but it is a relief to know that the magnitude of spam attacks need no longer be measured on this particular Richter scale.

It has taken time to build the legal framework needed to fight spam. In January 2004, federal anti-spam legislation took effect with a clear definition of spam and clear enforcement guidelines. This law has enabled Microsoft and others to target a number of top spammers and file for worldwide damages.

Our partners include government and law enforcement agencies throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America, and businesses including America Online, EarthLink, Yahoo!, Amazon.com and Pfizer.

Spam has grown from an annoyance to a threat. Through new laws and enforcement actions here and around the globe, spammers are getting the message: illegal spam is a riskier way to make a living.

There is still a long way to go, as legal efforts are being complemented by ongoing technological innovation and consumer education, but this week’s announcement is a milestone.

Thanks to strong enforcement efforts, spam is becoming harder for unlawful characters, and the Internet is becoming safer for all of us.

Sincerely,
Brad Smith
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Microsoft Corp.

<Microsoft PressPass>

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Thanks, enjoyed this post but still feel that they won't win as it is just to easy to 1)restart from a new location after a while or 2) split up into mutiple send off places. I mean I am no egghead but since this is already happening when I see my spam in German, Russian and Japanese how may I ask are they going to stop spam when it starts coming from Africa? No, I believe the result of conviting one main spammer is simply to send all the other spammers underground and abroad. It is just like when they stupidly anounce that someone has been convited for P2P usage for thousands of downloads thus telling everyone that by that convition they must have been monitoring the culprit's P2P and that everyone should swap or stop it once in a while, I am not saying that agree or support these crimes which they are, but I just suggest to the law inforcers that if they are been more private in their convitions, more subtle perhaps then, they could have done a better job, i.e here in Geneva Canabis is tollerated, 500grams you can grow, carry and even smoke in public but the net result of good information and open conversation in schools and cafes is that now very few people want to ruin their memories with canabis, the kids are turned off because the police don't react. Therefore, I conclude that spammers will beaten not so much when you attack the spammers but more when one learns clearly which product is being spamed and that that compuny learns that the spam is losing it's clientel.

[fleamailman]

Thanks, enjoyed this post but still feel that they won't win as it is just to easy to 1)restart from a new location after a while or 2) split up into mutiple send off places. I mean I am no egghead but since this is already happening when I see my spam in German, Russian and Japanese how may I ask are they going to stop spam when it starts coming from Africa? No, I believe the result of conviting one main spammer is simply to send all the other spammers underground and abroad. It is just like when they stupidly anounce that someone has been convited for P2P usage for thousands of downloads thus telling everyone that by that convition they must have been monitoring the culprit's P2P and that everyone should swap or stop it once in a while, I am not saying that agree or support these crimes which they are, but I just suggest to the law inforcers that if they are been more private in their convitions, more subtle perhaps then, they could have done a better job, i.e here in Geneva Canabis is tollerated, 500grams you can grow, carry and even smoke in public but the net result of good information and open conversation in schools and cafes is that now very few people want to ruin their memories with canabis, the kids are turned off because the police don't react. Therefore, I conclude that spammers will beaten not so much when you attack the spammers but more when one learns clearly which product is being spamed and that that compuny learns that the spam is losing it's clientel.

[fleamailman]

And no, sorry I don't smoke that stuff either.

[dyserq]

Well fleamailman does in fact make a good point
There is absolutely no way to stop all spam, i mean, most of it comes from overseas, where the laws can not touch them and furthermore, they can hide their identity, they can be someone else, they can be here but also there but they also can be no where
Furthermore, millions of emails is miniscule to nothing to spammers, this is how large spamming has become, to an extent where it can no longer be controlled, there are many news articles discussing and debating about this problem
Should the spamming laws become more strict? Maybe universal just as the internet is? These have all been controversial questions which have been argued out
Spammers follow each other, while someone may have to pay compensation, it may encourage others to do that exact crime, i must unfortunately stress that spamming is fast becoming something that we must deal with

Edited by dyserq, 10 August 2005 - 02:58 AM.

[dyserq]

Apologies
Had some difficulty with the post and unintentionally sent my reply twice
Sorry

Edited by dyserq, 10 August 2005 - 02:58 AM.

[fleamailman]

Just in case anyone is new here, I always recommend at least two things about spam avoidence: 1) view the mails on the server, 2) have a dummy mail address.

1) If one blocks mail, it only seems to come back more under another name so I just accept and delete on the server first, then open up my explorer afterwards for the mails I want to keep, which are very few.

2) If any site requests an e-mail address from me, I give out my real(but unused)one, and not my private one, then if I have to check it for their reply(normally once) I do, but otherwise they can mail me as much and as many times as they wish.

One other point, I never create a mail addres which gives away my name, which is what everyone seems to do until they lose their credit card number and wonder how it is their name is known to everyone else.