The FTC said that tens of thousands of owners of open email relays or open proxies will be notified that they are running such servers, often regarded as a security hazard, and given advice on how to secure them.
This new Operation Secure Your Server follows a more modest FTC-run campaign announced last May, which targeted about 1,000 machines, all of which were identified as spammer-friendly open email relays, in about 16 countries.
The latest operation also extends to other types of open proxy, which have limited uses but could be used for nefarious purposes, such as sending spam. Often, these proxy services are due to poor configurations.
Government cannot solve the spam problem on its own; everyone with an internet connection must do their part to make sure they are a part of the solution and not part of the problem, said Howard Beales, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
