Open Relay Behavior-modification System (ORBS), created and run by Alan Brown in New Zealand, was one of the first DNS-based Blackhole Lists (DNSBL), a means by which an

internet domain A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

may publish a list of

IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...

es, in a database which can be easily queried automatically by other computer programs on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. The ORBS list was used to

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

IP addresses that were

open mail relay An open mail relay is a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server configured in such a way that it allows anyone on the Internet to send e-mail through it, not just mail destined to or originating from known users. This used to be the default con ...

s, third-party mail servers through which

spammers This is a list of individuals and organizations noteworthy for engaging in bulk electronic spamming, either on their own behalf or on behalf of others. It is not a list of all spammers, only those whose actions have attracted substantial independen ...

can relay their messages and thus attempt to obfuscate the source of the spam.

Controversy

The ORBS list was controversial for a number of reasons. Many people felt that the methods ORBS employed to scan the Internet for open mail servers could be abusive. ORBS used probes to test for open relays without permission, sometimes over and over again. Some claimed that testing of their networks continued even after they asked ORBS to stop, others claimed that relayed spam didn't stop either. In some cases the tests interfered with mail servers, causing delays, especially when those servers were assigned hundreds of IP addresses. Related to the testing regime, which was excessive in the eyes of a number of email administrators, Brown's policy of adding servers he was unable to test to the list, whether or not they were actually open relays, was also a matter of dispute. Another complaint was that open relays that had never sent spam were listed without notice. False listings on ORBS were also alleged, particularly when Brown was engaged in legal or other dispute against the listed party A website was created in 2001 by Brad Baker calle
stoporbs.org
to offer assistance to other mail administrators who had been listed on the ORBS blacklist for reasons other than open relays. Many administrators felt that by listing servers for other than the reasons advertised (open relays), the list was not reliable for the supposed purpose.

Lawsuits

ORBS was created and run by Alan Brown in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was shut down in 2001 due to Brown's health and money issues and two lawsuits brought by companies listed on ORBS,

Xtra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * '' Extra!'', an American m ...

and Actrix, which he had refused to remove. The companies were listed by ORBS because they blocked its probes and they kept relaying spam. Brown was forced to sell his

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...

, Manawatu Internet Services, to cover expenses, and to state that the companies had been listed inappropriately. Brown also had a defamation lawsuit brought against him, O'Brien v Brown. The court ruled that Brown made defamatory comments about Patrick O'Brien, CEO of

Domainz Domainz Limited was the original .nz registry operator and is now an ICANN accredited domain name registrar and web host. IANA delegated the .nz namespace to John Houlker on 19 January 1987, and the University of Waikato issued .nz domain names a ...

, which is the .nz domain registrar. The comments were made in the Domainz

discussion group A discussion group is a group of individuals, typically who share a similar interest, who gather either formally or informally to discuss ideas, solve problems, or make comments. Common methods of conversing including meeting in person, conducting ...

. When Brown was offered a chance to apologize, he made additional defamatory comments. Following O'Brien's victory and the awarding of $42,000 to him, Brown claimed that his net worth was only $500, which he said is why he did not have a lawyer

Aftermath

Several groups had cached the lists, retested the open relays, and replaced ORBS. Running an open relay became even a bigger problem than before.

DNSBL A Domain Name System blocklist, Domain Name System-based blackhole list, Domain Name System blacklist (DNSBL) or real-time blackhole list (RBL) is a service for operation of mail servers to perform a check via a Domain Name System (DNS) query whe ...

s listing open relays got so effective that spammers shifted to insecure

proxy server In computer networking, a proxy server is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server providing that resource. Instead of connecting directly to a server that can fulfill a reques ...

s. The Internet Society of New Zealand council seats (and subsequently the

board) were filled by "rebel" members in elections in July 2000.{{cite web , url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/mediawatch/archive/2001/20010909r , title=O'Brien vs Brown , last= , first= , date= , website= , publisher=Radio New Zealand , access-date=2020-02-24 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104733/http://www.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/mediawatch/archive/2001/20010909r , archive-date=2007-09-29 , quote= O'Brien departed to run Singapore's Internet registry.

References

Anti-spam Internet in New Zealand