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As a heads up to every one, when you upgrade from Exchange 5 to 2000 or from 2000 to service pack three it turns Exchange into an open mail relay, you need to go into your server properties and close this. MS will fix this issue in the first post SP3 hotfix.
My suggestion would be to use a *nix based mail gateway and sit your exchange server behind this blocking the problem all together. As long as you make sure the *nix mail client you use is configured properly.
To bring up another point on this issue.... It's easier/cheaper to subscribe to DSBL.org using a *nix mail gateway also, eliminating that nasty spam. Exchange has it's place in networks but it does not belong directly connected to the Internet, no how, no way.
peace
I agree fully with you on that. Unfortunately a lot of mid size businesses don't and so we must try and educate the admin/support people/consultants on ways to make exchange a little more Spam unfriendly.
You can buy things for Exchange to take care of the spam part of it. For instance, ORF (open relay filter) but that doesn't stop the fact that you have an inherently insecure SMTP connector sitting directly on the Internet.
ORF - http://www.vamsoft.com/orf/
I was more thinking of most consultants not knowing enough to turn off the on by default open relay part of exchange, thus enableing spam at the rest of us. I don't care if they get spamm I just don't want it....same reason I harp at people about secureing WiFi connections.