My mailserver is getting spammed

[Canadian]

Ok, about every 5 seconds, a spammer tries to use my mailserver to send spam. Is it at all illegal for people to do that, and if it is, who would I have to contact to get it to stop. Thanks. (I do have the IP's of the servers trying to connect)

 

[triplate]

http://www.arin.net/index.html ...start here...its not legal at all...post his IP addys....

 

[Canadian]

Umm...

"ARIN does not have the legal authority to pursue spammers or hackers."
Who does have legal authority?

 

[triplate]

Ahhhh..you dont suppose they,d know ???....look on the bottom of that page...."Abuse"....

 

[triplate]

""ARIN maintains the WHOIS database as a public service to the global Internet community. This database may be used by any individual in an attempt to identify the user of an IP address. ARIN does not have the legal jurisdiction to investigate or prosecute claims of hacking or mail abuse.

Generally, the first step is to report fraudulent activity to the abuser's ISP. Most ISPs are responsive to concerns about hackers and spammers on their networks. If you are unsuccessful in resolving this situation with the ISP, you may wish to contact local law enforcement in your area or the area where the network is located.""" ....

 

[Canadian]

O...Ok

Thanks, will try.

 

[triplate]

Please do!..give em hell!!...

 

[triplate]

Also ???..how is your Server setup???not Firewalled or NAT,ed ?? bad juju!!

 

[Canadian]

Currently just windows firewall.

I have a Apache server with mysql support. I have a ftp and a mail server also. I currently host a MUD called Dragon Swords. I have about 100 members right now. It has norton 2002 and microsoft's antispyware. It has a celeron runnin at 2.4ghz, 512mb of ram, and a 60gig harddrive. Lucky, people in my game, might donate money, so I can buy a real server, host a few sites, and make some money

 

[Canadian]

Ohhh, Do you know how to...

Make a domain name? I dont want to pay, how do i make one? I need a program, right? Thanks

 

[triplate]

Nice setup!!...at least use Sygate Free..lol**..and a NAT router (or SPI)..

 

[triplate]

Man..its not worth it...you can get one for as little as 6$ a month if you look around..seriously..

 

[Canadian]

Holy...

Do you sit there waiting for new messages or something?

 

[triplate]

*LOL*..no...but i have a "couple" puters on line at all times...

 

[Canadian]

Lol.

You got MSN?

 

[Nodsu]

How do you know they are trying to send spam and how would you prove it?
And if they are real spammers then those IP addresses actyually belong to some clueless Windows dumbusers whose machines are acting as zombies.

And why bother? A couple of SMTP messages every few seconds will not hog your network unless you are on dialup or you have to count every byte because of a cap.
All sorts of people looking for careless people with unsecured systems is common internet background radiation. Just secure your system and shrug it off.