# Lycos leads the fight against Spam! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143 "2004-11-29T14:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/21 "2004-11-30T16:02:13Z")
I get the same message as **cazzle**. Perhaps it’s some kind of Australasian thing. But even if our enigmatic hax0r reports to our ISPs, I seriously doubt anything will come of it. All we’re doing is visiting the site, and it’s linked directly from the BBC story. It’s perfectly reasonable for someone who finds the story interesting to visit the site out of curiosity, even if they have no intention of downloading the software. OK, I did intend to download the software. But they can’t prove anything! Well, I suppose they can now that I’ve incriminated myself on this message board… ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/22 "2004-11-30T16:10:42Z")
You can download the Mac version from [MacUpdate](http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16592) …perhaps the usual Windows software archives have it as well? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/23 "2004-11-30T16:14:25Z")
It’s also linked from a newstory on [www.abc.gov.au](http://www.abc.gov.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1254988.htm) I can’t see how an ISP could or would react if you browsed the site or downloaded the program - it’s only really their business if you activate the program and it’s against their Terms of Service or something. ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/24 "2004-11-30T16:20:01Z")
I really don’t think lycos are going for a DoS style attack here, rather, just through requests for information from the websites in question they’re trying to force the companies that pay the spammers to cough up more cash for hosting. This, I have absolutely no problem with, and can’t for the life of my think why an ISP would complain about a maximum of 3-4MB/day. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/25 "2004-11-30T16:53:57Z")
I got a bit distracted, as it was not my intention to download the program at the moment anyway, I just wanted to look at the site, read what they had to say. What I’m concerned about is that this program could turn a [Joe Job](http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Joe%20Job) into even more of a problem for an unwitting victim. Lycos may take every effort to distinguish between spammers and innocent bystanders, but there’s still a good chance that an innocent party will be hit with a crippled website and a massive internet bill because they got on the bad side of a spammer. I think it’s a very cool idea, but I’m reluctant to use these sorts of tactics against spammers. It seems awfully close to crossing the line between good (us) and bad (them). ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/26 "2004-11-30T17:51:01Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > I got a bit distracted, as it was not my intention to download the program at the moment anyway, I just wanted to look at the site, read what they had to say. What I’m concerned about is that this program could turn a [Joe Job](http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Joe%20Job) into even more of a problem for an unwitting victim. Lycos may take every effort to distinguish between spammers and innocent bystanders, but there’s still a good chance that an innocent party will be hit with a crippled website and a massive internet bill because they got on the bad side of a spammer. Less chance of a Joe Job, because the screensaver targets the website actually selling the crap, not the spammer. I guess you could spam FOR your competition’s website, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/27 "2004-11-30T18:17:09Z")
My guess is that an Australian spammer/hacker/baddie/inside man has hacked a Domain Name Server somewhere down under. Anyone asking for that URL from a hacked DNS will get redirected to the wrong dotted quad, where the naughty-naughty page is hosted instead of the real deal. Try 83.241.136.30 and see if you get any results. ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/28 "2004-11-30T19:45:43Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > I haven’t really explained myself well. > > When I click on the link [NASA](http://makelovenotspam.com/intl/) all I get is a plain text page with the heading “using bots to attack people is just wrong”, and the entire content of the page is what I quoted above “Yes, attacking spammers is wrong, you know this, you shouldn’t be doing it. Your ip address and request have been logged and will be reported to your ISP for further action.” > > … I get the exact same message **cazzle**. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/29 "2004-11-30T20:20:22Z")
Someone antipodean try the IP address then. (If you’ve never done this before, just paste [http://83.241.136.30/](http://83.241.136.30/) into your browser’s address bar and hit return.) ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/30 "2004-11-30T23:06:32Z")
Australian checking in (near Sydney) I can access the webpage to download the screensaver from the link provided in **FinnAgain’s** OP in the Pit. I have not tried to download the screensaver, though. ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/31 "2004-11-30T23:24:36Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Someone antipodean try the IP address then. > > (If you’ve never done this before, just paste [http://83.241.136.30/](http://83.241.136.30/) into your browser’s address bar and hit return.) Nope. I can’t access it that way either. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/32 "2004-11-30T23:41:27Z")
I get the lovely white message of DOOM from the site in the OP. It resolves to 83.241.136.230 for me as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/33 "2004-12-01T06:10:47Z")
Ha! I reported my inability to access the site to my ISP, and got the following response: > [@](#): > > Hi, > > Unable to find the cause of where the site is being blocked. However we > did get to the host site which is at [http://corporate.starring.se/index.jsp](http://corporate.starring.se/index.jsp) > > On that page you should see a link which says ‘Contact Us’ > Advised them of the problem and they should be able to look into it and > take further action. > > If you have any further queries please feel free to contact the HelpDesk on (number removed) or simply reply to this e-mail. I wonder what Mr Hacker would make of that! ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/34 "2004-12-01T06:38:24Z")
I can still access it directly (as per link in Pit thread), however whenever I use the IP **jjimm** provided, my browser times out. Weird. **Cazzle,** are you going to use the “contact us” link? ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/35 "2004-12-01T12:01:59Z")
[Article that discusses the hacking of the Lycos site.](http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39175578,00.htm) Oh well. The spammers don’t mess about when they want to hit a web site. I notice also that my screensaver says it can’t connect to the Lycos servers. I guess the Lycos boys and girls underestimated what they (we?) were up against. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/36 "2004-12-01T13:27:08Z")
Damn. I can’t download the screen saver. ☹ It just seems to freeze up. ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/37 "2004-12-01T16:20:08Z")
i got a chance to download the screensaver on my comp at work last night, but this morning i can’t get through. :mad: i hope lycos gets it up and running again soon. DEATH TO SPAMMERS! is it wrong to wish death to someone in MPSIMS?? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/38 "2004-12-01T18:36:07Z")
I wonder why spammers don’t just get a frelling clue… “hmm, a vast majority of savvy net-surfers are downloading an app to burn up our bandwidth, it’s obvious they hate us and we’re pissing them off, pissing off potential customers is a horrible business strategy, maybe we _shouldn’t_ be spamming then” it’s obvious spammers are loathed, why don’t they get a clue and stop pissing everyone off, the only idiots that would buy stuff from spam would most likely buy _anything_ put in front of them… “look, Mr. Idiot, it’s the new, improved _ **Dehydrated Water!** _, yours for a low, low price of $19.95 per packet, act now and we’ll throw in shipping at almost no extra added cost” (product not included, additional shipping charges may apply, member FDIC, use estimates for comparison only) ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/39 "2004-12-01T18:47:22Z")
From what I’ve read of this thing it uses a computer’s “idle processing power” to do whatever it does. So… will it have a bad effect on my PC’s running the United Devices anti-cancer software? You know the programs I mean. If it won’t, then by cracky I’ll run it. But if I have to choose between cancer and spam I’ll have to go with cancer. (THERE’s a sentence that won’t make any sense to time-travellers from 1978) ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143/40 "2004-12-01T19:50:11Z")
Hurrah! I’ve finally managed to download it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lycos-leads-the-fight-against-spam/277143.md?page=3)