Brian Haberstroh: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 20:08, 10 September 2007

Brian Haberstroh is a businessman in New Hampshire who runs Distributed Mail Corporation, which once distributed software used to forward e-mail for other companies.

Technique

Distributed Mail Corporation (DMC) prior to 2005, created a software application called "Virtual Mail Delivery Agent" (virtualMDA) to end-users which sends permission-based email to addresses supplied by customers of DMC.

Users who sign up were told they will be paid $5 for installing virtualMDA and $1 for every CPU hour it is allowed to run. However, Haberstroh has stated the program's sending limit is 10,000 messages per day -- which modern computers would achieve in much less than one hour -- and the terms and conditions state that no money will be paid to a user until at least $50 has been earned. The website instucts users to check with their ISP's to ensure that virtualMDA can be used.

Moreover, the fee is based on true CPU time, this being the time which the CPU actually spends on virtualMDA's processes; this is a fraction of the actual time for which the software is running, as it consumes only a small percentage of system resources.

Haberstroh admits this is a scheme to get emails past spam filters, but insists virtualMDA is legal and in compliance with CAN-SPAM, and that the advertisements sent by DMC's customers are not illicit or unsuitable for children. He claims Fortune 1000 companies have licensed his service, though he has not named any of them apparently due to commercial confidentiality agreements.

Haberstroh also claims that all the recipients signed up to receive mail, yet Steve Linford's antispam service, The Spamhaus Project, claims to have caught many messages from Haberstroh's system in "spam trap" mailboxes with unpublished addresses. Furthermore, when Linford tracked down several users, they claimed to know nothing of the software, indicating that it was installed as malware. Haberstroh denies Linfords accusations and has repeatedly attempted to have Linford's Spamhaus service correct incorrect data listed without success.

Haberstroh denies Linfords accusations.

Legal case

In an ironic twist of fate, Haberstroh himself has sued one of the recipients of his messages, Jay Stuler of Columbus, Ohio. Stuler complained to Haberstroh's ISP in 2003 after being inundated with spam from Haberstroh's companies, resulting in the companies' ISPs closing down Haberstroh's accounts. Haberstroh in turn sued him for preventing his companies from sending email and thereby causing "financial harm", as well as Stuler's allegedly libelling him as a "criminal".

Stuler has created a website to appeal for donations in order to pay his legal fees in what he referred to as a "frivolous lawsuit designed to harass and intimidate".

The lawsuit known as Atriks, LLC, Distributed Mail Corporation and Brian Haberstroh v. Jay Stuler, Hillsborough County North Superior Court, Docket No. 04-C-718 has been resolved and judgment has been entered for the Plaintiffs on all counts.

virtualMDA defunct?

virtualMDA.com appears to be "not responding" as of June 2004, according to this article.

External links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+'''Brian Haberstroh''' is a businessman in [[New Hampshire]] who runs '''Distributed Mail Corporation''', which once distributed [[software]] used to forward [[e-mail]] for other companies.
-{{Unreferenced|date=August 2007}}
-{{BLPC}}
-'''Brian Haberstroh''' is an alleged [[spammer]] in [[New Hampshire]] who runs '''Atriks Inc.''', which distributed [[software]] used to forward [[email spam]] from other companies, including '''Distributed Mail Corporation''' (DMC).
 ==Technique==
-Haberstroh denies he is a spammer. Rather than sending spam himself, he distributed [[software]] called "Virtual Mail Delivery Agent" (virtualMDA) to end-users which itself sends spam to addresses he supplies. This includes mail from DMC, which is registered at the same address in New Hampshire as his own Atriks Inc.
+Distributed Mail Corporation (DMC) prior to 2005, created a software application called "Virtual Mail Delivery Agent" ('''virtualMDA''') to end-users which sends permission-based email to addresses supplied by customers of DMC.
-Users who signed up were told they will be paid $5 for installing virtualMDA and $1 for every hour it is allowed to run.  However, Haberstroh has stated the program's sending limit is 10,000 messages per day -- which modern computers would achieve in much less than one hour -- and the terms and conditions state that no money will be paid to a user until at least $50 has been earned, by which time most [[ISP]]s would have suspended the user's account for bulk emailing<ref>{{cite news|title=Being Paid to Spam|accessdate=2007-06-30
+Users who sign up were told they will be paid $5 for installing virtualMDA and $1 for every CPU hour it is allowed to run.  However, Haberstroh has stated the program's sending limit is 10,000 messages per day -- which modern computers would achieve in much less than one hour -- and the terms and conditions state that no money will be paid to a user until at least $50 has been earned. The website instucts users to check with their ISP's to ensure that virtualMDA can be used.
- |url=http://www.usenix.org/publications/login/2004-08/pdfs/haskins.pdf|format=PDF|author=Robert D. Haskins
- |publisher=[[USENIX]]|work=[[;login:]], Vol. 29, No. 4|page=24
-}}</ref>. The website contained no warning of this, merely an instruction that users check with their ISP that virtualMDA can be used.
-Moreover, the fee was based on true [[CPU time]], this being the time which the CPU actually spends on virtualMDA's processes; this is a mere fraction of the actual time for which the software is running, as it consumes only a small percentage of system resources. In any case the software did not appear to detect whether emails are being successfully sent at all, and the [[backend]] website, virtualmda.com, had no authentication. [http://www.jrj.org/2004_04_01_archive.cfm#108198563761410048]
+Moreover, the fee is based on true [[CPU time]], this being the time which the CPU actually spends on virtualMDA's processes; this is a fraction of the actual time for which the software is running, as it consumes only a small percentage of system resources.
-Haberstroh admits this is a scheme to get emails past [[E-mail spam|spam]] filters{{Fact|date=August 2007}}, but insists virtualMDA is legal and in compliance with [[CAN-SPAM]], and that the advertisements his messages contain are not illicit or unsuitable for children.  He claims many [[Fortune 1000]] companies advertise through his service, though he has not named any of them apparently due to commercial confidentiality.
+Haberstroh admits this is a scheme to get emails past [[E-mail spam|spam]] filters, but insists virtualMDA is legal and in compliance with [[CAN-SPAM]], and that the advertisements sent by DMC's customers are not illicit or unsuitable for children.  He claims [[Fortune 1000]] companies have licensed his service, though he has not named any of them apparently due to commercial confidentiality agreements.
-Haberstroh also claims that all the recipients signed up to receive mail, yet [[Steve Linford]]'s anti-spam service, [[The Spamhaus Project]], has caught many messages from Haberstroh's system in [[spamtrap]] mailboxes with unpublished addresses, indicating that in fact virtualMDA uses randomly-generated email addresses.  Furthermore, when Linford tracked down several users, they claimed to know nothing of the software, indicating that it was installed as [[malware]]. [http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/evidence.lasso?rokso_id=ROK3584]
+Haberstroh also claims that all the recipients signed up to receive mail, yet [[Steve Linford]]'s antispam service, [[The Spamhaus Project]], claims to have caught many messages from Haberstroh's system in "spam trap" mailboxes with unpublished addresses. Furthermore, when Linford tracked down several users, they claimed to know nothing of the software, indicating that it was installed as [[malware]]. Haberstroh denies Linfords accusations and has repeatedly attempted to have Linford's Spamhaus service correct incorrect data listed without success.
-Haberstroh denies Linfords accusations and has repeatedly attempted to have Linford's Spamhaus service remove them without success.
+Haberstroh denies Linfords accusations.
 ==Legal case==
-In an ironic twist of fate, Haberstroh himself has sued one of the recipients of his messages, [[Jay Stuler]] of [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Ohio]].  Stuler complained to Haberstroh's ISP in [[2003]] after being inundated with spam from Haberstroh's companies, resulting in the companies' ISPs closing down Haberstroh's accounts. Haberstroh in turn sued him for preventing his companies from sending email and thereby causing "financial harm", as well as Stuler's allegedly [[libel]]ling him as a "criminal".{{Fact|date=August 2007}}
+In an ironic twist of fate, Haberstroh himself has sued one of the recipients of his messages, [[Jay Stuler]] of [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Ohio]].  Stuler complained to Haberstroh's ISP in [[2003]] after being inundated with spam from Haberstroh's companies, resulting in the companies' ISPs closing down Haberstroh's accounts. Haberstroh in turn sued him for preventing his companies from sending email and thereby causing "financial harm", as well as Stuler's allegedly [[libel|libelling]] him as a "criminal".
-Stuler has created a website to appeal for donations in order to pay his legal fees in what he referred to as a "frivolous lawsuit designed to harass and intimidate". As of 2007, it appears that the case has been resolved before going to trial.
+Stuler has created a [http://spamlawsuit.spamshield.org/ website] to appeal for donations in order to pay his legal fees in what he referred to as a "frivolous lawsuit designed to harass and intimidate".
-The lawsuit known as Atriks, LLC, Distributed Mail Corporation and Brian Haberstroh v. Jay Stuler, Hillsborough County North Superior Court, Docket No. 04-C-718 has been resolved, and judgment has been entered for the Plaintiffs.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
+The lawsuit known as Atriks, LLC, Distributed Mail Corporation and Brian Haberstroh v. Jay Stuler, Hillsborough County North Superior Court, Docket No. 04-C-718 has been resolved and judgment has been entered for the Plaintiffs on all counts.
-==virtualMDA ==
+==virtualMDA defunct?==
-virtualMDA.com appears to be "not responding" as of June 2004.<ref>{{cite news
+virtualMDA.com appears to be "not responding" as of June 2004, according to [http://www.emailbattles.com/archive/battles/spam_ajhgbbcfhj_j/ this article].
- |title=Admins Exhale As virtualMDA Goes Dodo |author=BJ Gillette
- |url=http://www.emailbattles.com/2004/06/14/spam_ajhgbbcfhj_j/ |publisher=emailbattles.com
- |accessdate=2007-09-03
-}}</ref>
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
 ==External links==
+*[http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/listing.lasso?-op=cn&spammer=Brian%20Haberstroh%20/%20Atriks Spamhaus entry
-*{{cite news
+*[http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/19/2238208 Slashdot article on the court case]
- |url=http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/listing.lasso?-op=cn&spammer=Brian%20Haberstroh%20/%20Atriks
- |publisher=[[The Spamhaus Project|Spamhaus]]
- |title=Brian Haberstroh / Atriks |accessdate=2007-09-04
-}}
-*{{cite news
- |url=http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/04/26/if_it_looks____and_annoys____like_spam/
- |publisher=[[The Boston Globe]]
- |title=If it looks -- and annoys -- like spam |author=Hiawatha Bray |date=[[2004-04-26]]
- |accessdate=2007-09-03
-}}
-*[http://spamlawsuit.spamshield.org/ Jay Stuler's former website]
-*[http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/19/2238208 article on the court case], [[Slashdot]]
 *[http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/comments.php?shownews=2738 HardwareGeeks article on the court case]
+*[http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/04/26/if_it_looks____and_annoys____like_spam/ If it looks -- and annoys -- like spam - The Boston Globe]
 *[http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/04/63146 Wired News: Cash Cow or Spam Sow?]
 *http://web.archive.org/web/*/virtualmda.com
 [[Category:E-mail spammers|Haberstroh, Brian]]