[IP] more on BBC article on spam "solution" of hashcash, from Microsoft
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2003 12:20:00 -0500
From: Dan Steinberg <synthesis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [IP] BBC article on spam "solution" of hashcash, from Microsoft
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Dave Farber <dfarber@xxxxxxxxxx>
Dave,
Once again I'm not sure which address to send that wont get blocked by your
spam filters.
The idea of micropayment is not new. It has been brought up and shot down
about as many times as any I guess. The simple issue that fails to be
recognzed by anyone who brings it up is collection. How do you effectively
collect these micropayments when one of the key problems in fighting spam
is the identity of the spammer is hard to find? Forged source address and
someone is coming to dave@xxxxxxxxxx or synthesis@xxxxxxxxxxxx with an
invoice for mail we never sent. Machines taken over by trojans, etc etd
and someone gets a bill for mail they had no idea about. If someone finds
a way to accurately collect on these micropayments then they already
stopped the spam problem a few steps before the billing cycle. That said,
maybe the concept of making millions on micropayments might just spur
someone into coming up with a solution. who knows?
Dave Farber wrote:
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2003 09:38:22 -0500
From: Seth Finkelstein <sethf@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: BBC article on spam "solution" of hashcash, from Microsoft
To: Dave Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Dave, BBC News is running an article on Microsoft researchers
who are writing reports on the old, old, idea of solving the spam
problem by requiring some sort of nontrivial CPU cost or similar time
delay for sending an email. As the maintainer of a large mailing list,
I imagine you have an interest in that "solution" :-).
http://research.microsoft.com/research/sv/PennyBlack/index.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3324883.stm
"Microsoft aims to make spammers pay"
"The development has been called the Penny Black project, because it
works on the idea that revolutionised the British postage system in
the 1830s - that senders of mail should have to pay for it, not
whoever is on the receiving end."
"Stamp of approval"
"The basic idea is that we are trying to shift the equation to make it
possible and necessary for a sender to 'pay' for e-mail," explained
Ted Wobber of the Microsoft Research group (MSR).
"The payment is not made in the currency of money, but in the memory
and the computer power required to work out cryptographic puzzles."
"For any piece of e-mail I send, it will take a small amount computing
power of about 10 to 20 seconds."
"If I don't know you, I have to prove to you that I have spent a
little bit of time in resources to send you that e-mail."
--
Dan Steinberg
SYNTHESIS:Law & Technology
35, du Ravin phone: (613) 794-5356
Chelsea, Quebec fax: (819) 827-4398
J9B 1N1 e-mail:synthesis@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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