That's Incompetent Drivel

Reader says a recent article shows that the author is not competent.

[Response to The Customer Perspective: Blacklisted from April 2, 2004.]

[April 7, 2004]

Hello:

I read Max Smetannikov's April 2 article entitled "The Customer Perspective: Blacklisted." I don't normally write this kind of letter, but I have to ask: Is this guy for real? What kind of IT consultant expectsanti-virus software to protect him for hackers? What kind of IT consultant goes out and buys a new computer in response to a compromised system? And what is this crap about e-mail replacing voice in "tech heavy industries like IT?" The first sign that someone is incompetent is when they avoid talking to people live.

Also, hasn't Max ever heard of using his ISP to relay mail for him sothat a SPAM blacklist like Spamcop doesn't apply to him? I mean,seriously, he blew the whole situation way out of proportion. There is no reason why having his home IP blacklisted should prevent him fromsending email as long as Comcast permits him to relay mail. And if it is Comcast blacklisting him, that is where he should start in getting delisted. Publishing some public rant only shows what a fool he his.

Max gives consultants a bad name. If I were you, I'd cut that moron off. You don't need his kind of incompetent drivel.

Matthew Isleb

My response would be twofold:

First of all, this commentary indicates why it is so difficult to discuss security problems. Companies are terrified that if they ever admit to having a problem, they will never see any business. Luckily, Max Smetannikov is not a company. He is a consultant writing about the broad market landscape, and while he may have made a single basic error on the details while he was observing the big picture, that is no sin, but he did suffer for it nonetheless (and nobody else suffered—it would be a sin if others had suffered).

The Internet industry needs more stories like his, not less. As the consequences of a single lapse of vigilance increase, and the severity of threats increases, and the sources of threats continue to change, the community of users, especially those whose livelihood depends upon access, need to share stories and solutions.

Second, although Comcast could have routed around the problem, it chose not to. This would not be the first case of a cable MSO not doing everything possible for its customer. It is precisely because there were solutions to Max's problem that are outside his ISP's business plan that he felt frustrated and wrote the column.

Sincerely,

Alex Goldman
Managing Editor, ISP-Planet

NB: This article was also posted to Broadband reports, and is discussed here.