Published by rich on
Friday, May 9, 2008 - 06:19:10
- Filed under Spam
To anyone who tried to download SpamButcher last night between the hours of 12pm and 2am PST:
SORRY, MY BAD.
At about the same time two different users emailed me that the SpamButcher download was corrupted (if you're reading this - thank you for letting me know).
I tried downloading a copy of the POP3 spam filter myself, and sure enough - it was only 1.1 megabytes as opposed to the 2.3 megabytes it should have been.
Turns out the daily web server log files for SpamButcher overtime managed to fill up my server's disk. Just before it was full though, I posted an update to SpamButcher - which didn't quite fit.
To celebrate my presumably successful upload of SpamButcher's new version - I then proceeded to the local watering-hole and had two beers.
I'm sure the upload script flashed an error message - but since it always works - I've come to ignore its output.
Long before spam protection software even existed, I managed hosting for PGATOUR.COM. The log files were up to 700MB a day, and this was back when a large hard drive was only about 8GB.
A big part of my job was compressing, moving, archiving or otherwise doing something with the incoming log files. Worse, the client actually wanted the logs - so I couldn't just delete them.
I can't say I never let that drive run out of space - but it rarely happened - because I knew it was something I had to watch everyday.
Since SpamButcher's server has enough disk space to hold about a year's worth of logs - it's easy enough to forget about. It's something that I don't need to worry about often - but I do need to worry about it occasionally.
If I wait until someone else tells me about it - it's already a serious crisis.
The litter box situation is just fine until the cat pees on my laundry.
Anti-Spam Free Download
Published by rich on
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - 19:22:41
- Filed under Spam
After recently getting
hammered by multiple rounds of backscatter spam, I decided it was time to add another feature to SpamButcher.
From the help file:
Block delivery failure messages (bounces)
This will cause SpamButcher to filter most bounce messages. This may be useful if you are experiencing excessive bounce messages due to spam "backscatter."
Warning: This will also cause SpamButcher to block legitimate delivery failure reports and other warning messages from your mail server. It may also cause problems for some challenge-response anti-spam systems.
Most users should leave this option off.
Backscatter spam is caused when a spammer uses your email as a return address for their spam campaign. When they send spam e-mail to an account that doesn't exist - some servers will generate a bounce message that lands in your inbox.
Two of my SpamButcher addresses got hit by this problem. At one point I was receiving almost 1000 bounce messages a day.
Using this feature has its risks. You won't get notified about legitimate bounces. Enabling this option might also block warning messages indicating your inbox space is low, and may cause problems for some (lame) antispam systems that use challenge-response methodologies.
However, if you have an account which is getting hammered by backscatter, it's a valuable option - and may be worth the downsides.
When combined with SpamButcher's new, "Permanently delete messages that are almost certainly spam" option - bounce messages will just "evaporate" - not even appearing in your blocked spam list.
Outlook Express Spam Filter Free Download - Make Outlook Spam Free
Published by rich on
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 07:54:25
- Filed under Robots and Electronics, Other Fun Stuff
I've gotten most of the quirks out of Melty B's
strafing code.
First test video
Newer test video - after some practice / bug fixes
The test platform is one-wheeled - probably doing about 1200rpm.
It's not the most impressive demo - but you can see it works. I'm not entirely sold on how much of a tactical advantage it offers. From a technical standpoint - it seems to work fine - but some driving practice might be needed to do anything useful.
Currently strafing is controlled by the rudder on my remote. I suspect there's someway to integrate it in a "fuzzy" manner using the single stick for the traditional left-right control.
Email Spam Blockers - Anti-Spam Filters
