Brian McWilliams, author of Spam Kings and the Spam Kings Blog, is moving on.

I for one hope you found something enjoyable to do, Brian. Best wishes to you.

Regards,

Michael

A few weeks back, Spamroll posed the question as to whether real-time blackhole lists like MAPS might need a little outside supervision. RBLs have a lot of power, and Brian McWilliams highlighted just how much pull they have in AOL lands on spam blacklist.

Of course, not long after MAPS put a pile of AOL IP addresses on their list, those same addresses were pulled. Once again, MAPS laid down the law not long after notifying an ISPs abuse desk, but at least this time they didn’t do it on a Friday.

MAPS, now part of Kelkea is going to find themselves facing liability if they continue these quick-draw tactics, particularly if they start making a habit of pulling the stunts on large ISPs. But if the quick reverse action with AOL is any indication, maybe they have learned a good lesson. Boy, would I have loved to have been a fly on the wall when AOL called bitching.

Not unexpectedly, many of the Slashdot crowd think AOL had this coming. I’d personally hate to be the recipient of a blacklisting, erroneous or not, because it can be a major pain in the ass. The process is essentially quilty until proven innocent, with no jury trial. You can catch the whole comment string from Slashdotters here.

Brian McWilliams has put together a book suitable for shelving next to The DaVinci Code and the Bat Book, with Spam Kings – The Real Story Behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and @*#?% Enlargements.

Detailing the exploits of the biggest spammers of the late nineties and new millennium, Spam Kings follows their trail down to the lunch menu, with the underworld’s anti-spam fighters of the day taking the order. The book details the comings and goings of the likes of Sanford Wallace, an early spam king who claimed constitutional authority to send UCE, up to the present day powerhouses such as Ron Scelson and Scott Richter, whose wealth and influence keeps the heat off of them. But the real story is about two individuals, Susan Gunn, of NANAE fame, and David Hawke, who continues to elude the massive AOL lawsuit judgments against him.

The antagonist and protagonist’s paths cross often, but they never seem to directly butt heads. What makes the saga so interesting is that their actions affect each other’s lives in profound ways, exemplifying the intensely close knit nature of the spammer and anti-spam communities that surround them, and sometimes, their disloyalties. Furthermore, the lines between spammer and “anti” sometimes blur beyond natural reason, reflecting the deep knowledge of systems and processes each side attains during their trials and tribulations, and the monetary value of that knowledge in the open (if not seedy) market.

What I found most appealing during the read was the relevancy of events that take place throughout, and the meticulous references to the news of the day. I found myself wondering where I was, how much spam I was getting, and whether I could remember receiving any scurrilous product pitches from the characters within. I am now checking old email archives, just for posterity.

The book also contains an excellent glossary of technical and business terms used throughout, as well as a detailed reference section.

Clearly a publication for both the technology/history buff, as well as the everyday email user still wondering where the heck all those Viagra ads in their inboxes really comes from.

Brian McWilliams, author of Spam Kings, recently noted one of his colleagues, Frederic Aoun, had a interesting, if not so serious solution to the spam problem. Bust up the spammers’ customers along with the spammers. Well, that is already happening, in an indirect way of course, to those very customers right now.

In The price of buying from spammers, Brian mentions a private conversation with Aoun where he discussed the idea, and points out that it was less a call to action than idle chatter. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if some politician takes it the wrong way (much scarier if they actually succeeded though).

Brian also points out that spammers are already selling those customer lists, and in addition to email addresses, the scrolls often include names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, IP addresses, and even prescription drug purchase histories. Just to scare you a little more, I will speculate that credit card numbers are part of some of those lists too.

Spamroll said in Spamalot Not Too Entertaining that once your email was input into some web form or another, that it was not safe. Now you have an expert saying the same.

If you think Brian is just trying to sell his book, think again. He is not the only one pointing this out. For further reading on how bad the issue is, check out Shocker: Spammers Don’t Protect Privacy Of Buyers, over at Techdirt. Or you can check out One More Reason To Hire Your Own Script Kiddie, where you find that taking less that diligent care in your legitimate ecommerce activities can put you in the spam seat.