• Spam - E-mail that you receive that you did not sign up, ask, or give permission to receive to your e-mail address.
• Usenet - Breaking a rule within the group that is outlined in each group?s charter. This includes but not limited to posting off-topic, binaries to a non binary group, Spam, copyright protected content, threatening or harassing postings, and child pornography.
• Port Scanning - When a computer scans another computer or computers attempting to gain information on the computer such as ports that are open or vulnerabilities. If ports or vulnerabilities are found, this can be used to the abuser?s advantage to place a virus, worm, or Trojan Horse on the computer, to take control of the computer, or to infect the computer with the virus.
• Copyright - Distributing any file, program, video, picture, music, or product that you do not own the rights or permission to do so. Peer to Peer programs such as KaZaA, iMesh, Bearshare, etc. are often used to illegally obtain and distribute copyrighted material.
• Identity Theft - Stealing the information of another person and using that for your own personal gain or purpose.
• Threats & Harassment - E-mailing, posting, or advertising harmful comments that negatively affect another person or persons.
• Hacking - Purposely attempting to gain access to a computer that does not belong to you to steal information or take control over another computer. DOS (Denial of Service Attack) - This is an attack on another computer or computers that stops the ability for the computer to access the Internet or execute programs. In many cases the computer will crash, or a network will be unable to operate because the resources are all used up from the DDOS.
• Phishing - replicating a company's information to gain access to personal information on their customers. This includes but not limited to passwords, credit cards, address, phone number, social security number and driver's license. Phishing may come in the form of an e-mail or Web site. EBay is one of many companies that are used to get personal information about their customers by replicating their e-mails that are sent to customers. The e-mail will give you a Web link which when clicked will take you to a fake Web site. The fake Web site is usually hosted on a compromised computer and the information is retrieve by a remote hacker.
• Cyber Stalking - This is a person that fakes their identity that preys on adults or children attempting to get information about them, talk about things in a sexual manner, attempt to meet with them to have sexual intercourse, kidnapping or anything that will result in a harmful manner towards the person being stalked.

If you have evidence of abuse against you or your computer it is very important that you know exactly who is responsible. Many computer users believe that the "From" field in an e-mail is the person responsible. That is not true. The "From" field is the last place you would look to identify the person responsible. Within every log or Internet Header is recorded what is called an IP address.

An IP address is similar to your phone number; it is used to connect your computer to the Internet. An IP is unique like your phone number to where no one in the entire world would have the same number. Companies that provide any type of Internet service keeps a database that stores IP traffic meaning that any IP that tries to connect to their network will be logged and recorded. Depending on the company these records are kept for a certain amount of time and can be used to track down problems on the network, Internet abusers, and their own customers or clients that are abusing. What is recorded on most networks is; date, time, MAC number, IP address, computer name, and sometimes some customer information.

Types of Abuse Logs

1. Internet (Message) Headers - These are found in e-mail. Depending on your e-mail client the Internet Headers are found in different places. Internet Headers are generally not displayed within the e-mail. Example: In Microsoft Outlook to view the Internet Headers you would right click the e-mail and select "Options" to see the Internet Headers.
2. A Firewall log displays attacks against your computer or server and local traffic that your computer does on the Internet or on the local network.
3. Newsgroup Logs - When you post to Newsgroups your computer information is logged and recorded. Newsgroup logs are very similar to Internet Headers in their appearance and how you find them. In Outlook Express if you have your Newsgroups setup, download a few threads from the group and then right click the thread to get the Newsgroup Headers.
4. Copyright Abuse Report - If you witness someone transmitting Copyrighted files on the Internet you can turn them in for Copyright abuse. There are several agencies that represent companies and their products that will respond to Copyright abuse. To locate an agency to report Copyright abuse, do a search on the Internet.
5. Screen Shots - If you encounter abuse that can not be logged or recorded or you do not know how to get the information you need you can always take a screenshot. In Windows if you push the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard and then open your "Paint" program and hit "CRTL + V" or "Edit then Paste" you will have a screenshot which you can save as an image file.

If you are being Port Scanned by another Internet user, or you believe your Firewall is showing evidence of an infected user hitting your network (be aware that in almost all port scanning cases the scans against your PC are a result of a virus, worm, or Trojan Horse and not the individual themselves intentionally trying to gain access).

Remember that ALL abuse complaints must include a snippet of your firewall log (in ASCII Format) which includes the following:

• Date
• Time (Include Time Stamp (include Time Zone))
• IP
• Attempted Port(s)

Cut and paste your log information into an e-mail along with your name and contact information. You may receive an automated response back so you will know that your complaint has been received.

Firewall Log Sample:

Time Zone: UTC

Event Date Time, Destination IP, Source IP Target Port, Source Port, Event Count:
30 Nov 2007 21:35:01, 71.212.x.x, 76.183.195.243, 2967, 3387, 2

With this example we can see that the Source IP address was 76.183.195.243 (your IP address is the destination IP) and connected to port 2967 two times.

There are two ways to report spam, the simplest of which is to use a third-party service that accurately sends complaints on your behalf to the point of origin. The alternative is to manually look up header information, locate the IP addresses that originated/relayed the e-mail, do a whois lookup to see what ISP owns that IP address and forward those headers in a complaint to the ISP's Abuse department. For simplicity's sake, we're going to give instructions on the first option.

• Visit SpamCop.net and register for a free account.
• After signing up and logging in, click on the 'report spam' tab.
• Forward the spam email to the email address provided.

Newsgroups are forums for topical communication and discussion for Internet users around the world. Most newsgroups generally have guidelines pertaining to their particular group which should be followed if you wish to participate within that group. If you are unaware of the guidelines pertaining to a newsgroup you can check the newsgroup and look for the "FAQ" post for more information.

For more information on Usenet spam please visit FAQ: Current Usenet spam thresholds and guidelines.

After understanding what is considered to be Usenet Spam here is how you should report it:

• You must first find where the "Internet Headers" or "Message Source" are located for that particular posting. In Outlook Express you can right mouse click the newsgroup posting and select "Properties". In the properties box you will see the "Internet Headers" and right below them a tab that will say "Message Source". If you click on "Message Source" another window will appear, and inside of this window all the information you will need to file the complaint will be here.
• Here is an example of what you would see:



Path:

typhoon.austin.rr.com!cyclone2.austin.rr.com!

typhoon.austin.rr.com.POSTED!not-for-mail

From: John Doe

Newsgroups: roadrunner.austin.comments

Subject: How to file a complaint

Message-ID:

X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.8/32.548

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Lines: 8

Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 22:07:11 GMT

NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.69.69.66

X-Trace:

typhoon.austin.rr.com 992729231 66.69.69.66

(Sat, 16 Jun 2001 17:07:11 CDT)

NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 17:07:11 CDT

Organization: Road Runner - Texas

Xref:

cyclone2.austin.rr.com roadrunner.austin.comments:4381

X-Complaints-To: abuse@rr.com



• This is the message you would see that the person had posted. This would be included in the message source, so the ISP would be able to decide if the complaint was valid.
• After you discover where the "Internet Headers" or the "Message Source" is, cut and paste them into the e-mail message and forward to abuse@the ISP responsible.com. For example, if you look above at the "Message Source" you will notice if we wanted to send a complaint to the appropriate ISP responsible for this e-mail, we would send it to abuse@rr.com.

Time Warner Cable subscribers and account holders may not upload, post, transmit or otherwise make available on or via the Road Runner Service any material protected by copyright in a manner that infringes that copyright. In accord with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is the policy of Time Warner Cable to terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the Road Runner Service of any subscriber or account holder who is a repeat offender. However, as provided in the Road Runner Subscription Agreement, Time Warner Cable expressly reserves the right to terminate or suspend the service of any subscriber or account holder even for a single act of infringement. These policies do not affect any other rights Time Warner Cable may have under law or contract.

If you believe that material has been uploaded, posted, transmitted or otherwise made available on or via the Road Runner Service in a manner that is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law, please provide the following information to our legal department at the address below.

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Time Warner Cable to locate the material.
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit Time Warner Cable to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

The above information should be directed to copyright@twcable.com or by Fax: (203) 328-4840.

The Internet is a very large communication platform that allows individuals or companies to communicate with Internet users through e-mail, chat, or newsgroups. Through these, fraudsters can access millions of people within a limited amount of time. It can be difficult to determine who is legitimate and who is not. Fortunately, there are online resources that are devoted to finding and exposing Internet scams. You may wish to try Internet ScamBusters ™ for further information relating to Internet scams. Likewise, if you believe that you are the victim of Internet Fraud, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has created an online reporting site. You can file your complaints online at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The Internet is a vast amount of space that holds Web pages, files, documents, games, programs, pictures, chat groups and so much more. We can communicate with someone 3,000 miles away or just down the street with a keyboard and a computer. Since the Internet is not a governed or rule entity people can use the Internet for very bad things. Every country has laws that govern the people that live there, however, since there isn't a set of laws that govern the Internet many people can get away with things that normally they would receive punishment for.

An example of this would be Child Pornography or "Kiddie Porn". Newsgroups, P2P clients, and Web sites from other countries host child porn, but that doesn't mean that you can't find child porn on a private password protect Web site here in the U.S.A. Since the laws that govern child porn are cracking down because of the distribution of child porn on the Internet many child porn hosting sites are becoming more devious as they try to elude the FBI and other government agencies.

If you suspect child pornography or know of anyone that has, does, or offers child pornography please report your case to the list of agencies below. Even if you are unsure of the age of the child in the photograph please do not hesitate to report it. With your help we can help remove horrific images of children and put the people behind them in jail. It has been reported that people who distribute child porn already have some type of sex offense on their record and there may those with a criminal background that are wanted for arrest.

Report Child Exploitation and Pornography:

• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Use its Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678
• Or contact FBI Crime Against Children coordinators in their Local Field Offices