Tiscali suspend account due to customer spamming them?

I have just been phoned by a friend who has apparently has had his internet
account suspended by Tiscali, because they claim he is spamming (sending out
spam email from his computer). He knows nothing about this spamming that is
allegedly going on, and can only put it down to some virus or spyware that
must have got onto his computer.

Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this happens?
Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this doesn't happen
in the first place?

Justin

In response to what Justin <(E-Mail Removed)> posted in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> I have just been phoned by a friend who has apparently has had his
> internet account suspended by Tiscali, because they claim he is
> spamming (sending out spam email from his computer). He knows nothing
> about this spamming that is allegedly going on, and can only put it
> down to some virus or spyware that must have got onto his computer.
>
> Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this
> happens? Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this
> doesn't happen in the first place?

If more ISPs did this, the problem might begin to go away. People who
connect to the Internet without defences against nasties deserve to be cut
off.

--
Joe Soap.
JUNK is stuff that you keep for 20 years,
then throw away a week before you need it.

"Joe Soap" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns97916B475268Breyuhdfghdfy@130.133.1.4...
> In response to what Justin <(E-Mail Removed)> posted in
> news:(E-Mail Removed):
>
> > I have just been phoned by a friend who has apparently has had his
> > internet account suspended by Tiscali, because they claim he is
> > spamming (sending out spam email from his computer). He knows nothing
> > about this spamming that is allegedly going on, and can only put it
> > down to some virus or spyware that must have got onto his computer.
> >
> > Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this
> > happens? Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this
> > doesn't happen in the first place?
>
> If more ISPs did this, the problem might begin to go away. People who
> connect to the Internet without defences against nasties deserve to be cut
> off.
>
> --
> Joe Soap.

What defence to you suggest then 'Joe Soap' ?

He was already running a firewalled Netgear router, NOD32 and Ad-Aware.

Tell me your secret.... Tell us all..... You must have something special
up your sleeve?

Justin

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Justin
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote

>
>Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this happens?

ISPs will suspend accounts if the customers machine is being used for
spam. They cannot clean up his machine remotely and until he takes the
trouble to fix his own computer/software the account may remain
suspended.

>Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this doesn't happen
>in the first place?

If your friend wants a Nanny then there are probably ISPs that will
provide the service he wants. He may however find some things
restrictive. Otherwise, get your friend to install some basic security -
it's simple to do and at zero cost.

The Zone Alarm Firewall is free from
<http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...alm/comparison.
jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=ho_za>

The free AVG virus checker can be obtained from
<http://www.grisoft.com/doc/289/lng/us/tpl/tpl01>

or the free Avast virus checker can be obtained from
<http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html>

A free spyware checker can be obtained from
<http://www.lavasoft.com/software/adaware/>

--
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

In response to what Justin <(E-Mail Removed)> posted in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> "Joe Soap" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:Xns97916B475268Breyuhdfghdfy@130.133.1.4...
>> In response to what Justin <(E-Mail Removed)> posted in
>> news:(E-Mail Removed):
>>
>> > I have just been phoned by a friend who has apparently has had his
>> > internet account suspended by Tiscali, because they claim he is
>> > spamming (sending out spam email from his computer). He knows
>> > nothing about this spamming that is allegedly going on, and can
>> > only put it down to some virus or spyware that must have got onto
>> > his computer.
>> >
>> > Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this
>> > happens? Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure
>> > this doesn't happen in the first place?
>>
>> If more ISPs did this, the problem might begin to go away. People who
>> connect to the Internet without defences against nasties deserve to
>> be cut off.
>>
>> --
>> Joe Soap.
>
> What defence to you suggest then 'Joe Soap' ?
>
> He was already running a firewalled Netgear router, NOD32 and
> Ad-Aware.
>
> Tell me your secret.... Tell us all..... You must have something
> special up your sleeve?

I have no secrets, just use FW, AV and NAT router. If something nasty
slipped past, I would not be too aggrieved if the ISP pulled the plug
until I got it fixed - provided I was told why.

If more ISPs did this, the problem might begin to go away.

--
Joe Soap.
JUNK is stuff that you keep for 20 years,
then throw away a week before you need it.

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Justin
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
>
>"Joe Soap" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:Xns97916B475268Breyuhdfghdfy@130.133.1.4.. .
>> In response to what Justin <(E-Mail Removed)> posted in
>> news:(E-Mail Removed):
>>
>> > I have just been phoned by a friend who has apparently has had his
>> > internet account suspended by Tiscali, because they claim he is
>> > spamming (sending out spam email from his computer). He knows nothing
>> > about this spamming that is allegedly going on, and can only put it
>> > down to some virus or spyware that must have got onto his computer.
>> >
>> > Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this
>> > happens? Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this
>> > doesn't happen in the first place?
>>
>> If more ISPs did this, the problem might begin to go away. People who
>> connect to the Internet without defences against nasties deserve to be cut
>> off.
>>
>> --
>> Joe Soap.
>
>What defence to you suggest then 'Joe Soap' ?
>
>He was already running a firewalled Netgear router, NOD32 and Ad-Aware.
>

If the assumption is that it must be a virus or spyware that is causing
the problem then one or more of these packages is not working. Virus
checkers are only as good as their last update which are supplied often
on a daily basis.

If all of the above are working, one reason for accounts being
suspended is complaints from others to his ISP about newsgroup postings
or unsolicited emails advertising services. A single post or a single
complaint may trigger this process.

Your friends address may have been forged on a batch of spam but if the
ISP is not clued up enough to realise this when they receive abuse
reports then he is probably better off changing ISPs.

--
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Justin says...
> I have just been phoned by a friend who has apparently has had his internet
> account suspended by Tiscali, because they claim he is spamming (sending out
> spam email from his computer). He knows nothing about this spamming that is
> allegedly going on, and can only put it down to some virus or spyware that
> must have got onto his computer.

Nothing new.

Google for the term 'spam zombie'. An infected PC becomes a spammers
smtp server hiding their true origin. It could be worse, some spammers
set up http or ftp servers on victims systems and use them to serve site
sections for kiddy porn and other hideous garbage.

> Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this happens?

Yep. Faster the better. Nuke on sight is always the best policy, then do
the cleanup and allow the user to come back online when the system is
clean.

> Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this doesn't happen
> in the first place?

The do, it's called suspending accounts. So what are you suggesting?
Tiscali puts someone in the users home to watch them in case they
download spamware? Intercept and examine every packet going between
users and the internet as a whole?

Your comment is ridiculous. And don't give us the spyware protection and
antivirus stuff, if he's infected then what he has installed is about as
much use as a teapot made of frozen piss.

Tiscali didn't send him to some dodgy site or send him virus laden
email, did they? Chances are he got it from a website or download, but
even if it was via email the onus is on him to have good protection
installed. Which he patently does not.

FR

Justin wrote:
> Is it normal practce for an ISP to just suspend your acount if this
> happens?
> Why don't they have security measures in place to ensure this doesn't
> happen
> in the first place?

It is proper practice of good isps to to do this, so for a company like
tiscali to do this, it is unusual.

Gaz

>
> Justin

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Alan says...
> Your friends address may have been forged on a batch of spam but if the
> ISP is not clued up enough to realise this when they receive abuse
> reports then he is probably better off changing ISPs.
>
ISPs don't work like that, they will go off IP addresses as forgery of
email addresses is extremely common. If he had been forged, he would
also have seen the backscatter and been aware of the problem himself.

Spammers use dirty lists full of void addresses, and he would have been
swamped with bounces.

FR

Justin wrote:

> What defence to you suggest then 'Joe Soap' ?
>
> He was already running a firewalled Netgear router, NOD32 and Ad-Aware.
>
> Tell me your secret.... Tell us all..... You must have something special
> up your sleeve?

You didn't mention the type of anti-virus software he is using and the
date of the signatures. Do you have this information? He has a
firewalled router - is the firewall switched on? Does he have a wireless
access point that has been highjacked?

I am with the other poster on this - more ISP's should take direct action.