A Weblog About Topics and Issues Discussed in the Book Spam Kings by Brian McWilliams

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November 9, 2005

Spam from Iraq

TigrisNet logoIt's not on the USAID list of accomplishments, but the Internet is booming in Iraq.

Fun fact: there are now around 20,000 Internet protocol (IP) addresses allocated to Iraq, according to one estimate

Wasn't too long ago (i.e., early March, 2003) that everyone in Baghdad was sharing a couple of IP addresses.

Unfortunately, not one of Iraq's shiny new Internet service providers -- or its legacy ISP, Uruklink -- has published an acceptable use policy governing the use of its networks.

Is it time to worry about Iraq becoming a major spam haven? I examine this issue in a new piece for O'Reilly Network: Spam from Iraq.

Posted by brian at November 9, 2005 6:00 PM

Comments

A country with over 20,000,000 million people, and since they are getting an IP allocation of 20,000 IP's, you write about them becoming a major spam injection point?

You are an idiot, and don't have a clue. Why don't you think before you speak.
It is better to have people think you are an idiot, than to open your mouth, and remove all doubt.

Posted by: anonymous at November 10, 2005 11:31 AM

Mr. Anonymous,

I suggest you read the article. I didn't say Iraq was becoming a major spam source.

I wrote, "With its expanding internet presence, will Iraq soon join the ranks of the top spam-producing nations? It seems highly unlikely ..."

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/11/09/spam-from-iraq.html

Posted by: Brian at November 10, 2005 12:53 PM

Always nice to see when somebody shouting "you are stupid" is proving his own stupidity.

But on the topic of your new article, Brian: What got me worried immediately is Iraq's tld: .IQ. I've never seen and email address with the .tld or a website, yet it already has that spammy ring to it. Sound's like a tld dreamed up by spammers; just like .biz.

Do you know about the regulations concerning this tld? Will anyone soon be able to register a .iq domain? How about the AUPs of the Iraqi registrars?

Posted by: Manni at November 11, 2005 2:09 AM

Manni, the dot-IQ top-level domain has a bizarre history. There's some background in this article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05221/549502.stm .

In August, it seemed the dot-IQ registry was finally about to go live. But something's caused a delay. Still nothing happening at the site of the organization that's been assigned to oversee the domain: http://ncmc-iraq.org/iqdomain.htm .

Posted by: Brian at November 11, 2005 10:32 AM