LYCOS Europe

LYCOS Europe is a pan-European network of websites, offering services including communication tools, online communities, web search, e-commerce, web hosting, homepage building and Internet access. It is an independent corporation, sharing no corporate structure with Lycos, Inc. (USA), but with historic origins in it.

Make Love Not Spam

In November 2004, Lycos Europe introduced a Microsoft Windows and Mac OS screensaver program called "Make Love Not Spam". It was introduced as both marketing for the then-new Lycos email service Spray Mail, and as a way for users to fight spam in a collective manner.

The program worked using users' computers to perform a DDOS attack on the web servers of known spammers. The computers worked in the same way as a botnet except the users were aware of the software and were able to decide if they wished to be involved in the scheme.

On the December 21, 2004 Lycos Europe stopped distributing the program whilst simultaneously 'turning off' the programs on computers that had downloaded it. The decision was made under heavy criticism from internet and security experts. It is also believed Lycos were subject to large scale counterattacks believed to be from spammers in retaliation. The distribution website was replaced with the words "Stay Tuned".

External links

* [http://www.lycos.co.uk Lycos UK]
* [http://www.lycos-europe.com Lycos Europe]
* [http://www.lycos.com/ Lycos, Inc. (USA)]
* [http://iq.lycos.co.uk Lycos iQ]
* [http://www.makelovenotspam.com Official site]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4051553.stm BBC News "Screensaver tackles spam websites"]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4061375.stm BBC News "Anti-spam plan overwhelms sites"]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4073547.stm BBC News "Anti-spam screensaver scrapped"]