Re: Website link for 63.245.42.17

Mark Paine <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dick,
> You're wrong. I don't have an open proxy.

Well, it all depends on the wording used who is right and who is
wrong. When you say "THERE ARE NO OPEN RELAYS here", I interpret "here"
as "63.245.42.17", and that makes the statement false. Me changing "here"
into "you" created another false statement. But I was not aware that
this is a dynamic IP.


>                                             Someone who shares the same
> DHCP server through my ISP has an open proxy. Yes, I understand that's
> a bad thing, and I understand that dsbl is trying to do the world a good
> thing, and I know the standard answer is to say "tell your ISP to fix the
> problem" (in a case such as mine). And the truth is, I share the sentiment.
>
> The problem is, the world isn't perfect.

I am aware of that, I happen to live in it.

> I've got nearly no chance of changing my ISP and I don't have many
> choices when it comes to them. And I know plenty of ISPs (and I'm sure
> you do too) that don't have reverse DNS setup because it requires some
> extra amount of effort on their part.

That why many a postmaster refuses mail from anonymous hosts. If the
ISP does not like the effort to get rDNS working then chances are that
they not like the effort of keeping their network clean either.

> I regret that I lashed out in frustration.

Actually your message was quite polite, else I would not have bothered
answering. [email protected] gets at least one legal threat per week and a
awful lot of foulmouthing as well.

> But dsbl is part of a system that now punishes the innocent before
> they're proven guilty.

I must disagree. DSBL lists individual IP addresses - not people - that
have been proven guilty. A lot of these are dynamic IPs but it is still
possible for someone sharing a dynamic IP with a bunch of zombies to
unlist that IP provided that they have working rDNS, you have to draw
the line somewhere. It is much harder - if not impossible - for an
innocent person to get out of a dynamic IP blocklist.


> I've always scrupulously maintained the security on my systems.

I see that you're using KMail, that probably means that you are
not the Winroute Pro user that caused the listing...

> I *did* manage to switch the IP that my ISP doled out to my wireless
> router by shutting down the cable modem overnight, and *luckily", it's
> not an IP address that's listed in dsbl, so there is some consolation
> in that.

Actually you are in a pretty good neighborhood. Only 15 out of 1024
IPs in your netblock are listed in DSBL. 50-99 percent is not unusual
for a dynamic netblock.
Smarthosting is always a good idea, but I see that you're already
doing that.