Are We Winning the Spam Wars?
If you believe this article in The Register, the answer may be yes. Here’s an extract.
Spam volumes almost halved in the three months between August and the end of October, according to Symantec.
Symantec’s hosted services unit (formerly MessageLabs) credits a 47 per cent sharp decrease in global spam volumes to action by the authorities against botnets and organised cybercrooks. In October, authorities in the Netherlands took down several servers associated with the Bredolab botnet. The action followed the September closure of spamit.com, a key player in the unlicensed pharmaceuticals spam racket, and arrests in the US, UK and Ukraine of scores of suspected members of a ZeuS phishing Trojan ring.
If more of us installed proper protection against spam, we might continue to see a decline.
Let’s hope so! If you don’t want to spend money on spm protection, you could always use Clamwin, as I do.
A Spat Over a Breast Enhancement Cream
There is a legal spat going on between a company called Rodial and a plastic surgeon called Dr. Dalia Nield. You can read about it in this article in The Independent.
It strikes me that this one will run and run, but it could be one that falls into that category, where someone makes a legitimate comment, from professional knowledge and experience, and someone else decides they’ll challenge that statement in the Courts by suing for libel. Read the article in The Independent and you will see that Dr. Nield is supported by Sense About Science, a charity which fights against these actions and in the past supported the author, Simon Singh.
These sort of actions worry me, as I have pretty strong opinions on some controversial subjects and one of these days I might arouse the ire of a rather nasty snake oil salesman. So I will not come down in favour of one party or another.
I do know of Rodial though, but in a strange way. At least twice a week for several months, I have got a sales e-mail from them. When I got the first, I thought it was a spam e-mail, as it was trying to sell me a breast enhancement cream or other such product, that I have no need for. Mainly because I’m a man, but also because I don’t use any creams or potions at all. I should also say, that, I’ve seen lots of this type of e-mail from spammers in the United States and as this email seemed little different, I immediately regarded it as being of the same type, even though it enlarged breasts rather than the male organ. I didn’t even bother to try to unsubscribe, as it came from a retired e-mail address, I don’t use very often. So that means they must have obtained an old list from somewhere. I wonder what the Information Commisioner would say about that. I’m not bothered, as I just set the spam filter to drop them straight into the Spam Folder, as I do for most of the spam I get, as often unsubscribing tells the spammer that the e-mail address is real.
The Scam That Doesn’t Stop
The Nettemps/Juliette Barnes scam, I reported on some time ago, doesn’t seem to show any signs of stopping.
For instance today, I got 105 search hits looking for more information about the spam e-mails and yesterday it was 57.
At least it pushes my blog up the search engines!
Adobe Software Upgrade Scam
I have had several of these e-mails, mostly to e-mail addresses that are only used to register domain names for clients.
ADOBE PDF READER SOFTWARE UPGRADE NOTIFICATION
This is to remind that a new version of Adobe Acrobat Reader with enhanced features for viewing, creating, editing, printing and internet-sharing PDF documents has been released.
To upgrade your application:
+ Go to [link removed]
+ Get your options, download and upgrade.Thanks and best regards,
John WilliamAdobe Acrobat Reader Support
Copy rights Adobe 2010 © All rights reserved
1022 Marrinbird Rd | Merryton | CA | 91523 | USA
Unless Adobe tell me that it is genuine in a secure and verifiable manner, I’ll assume it’s a scam or some form of trojan or virus delivery.
I did find this note in an Adobe forum, confirming my suspicions.
I also found this in the registration details for the domain.
Domain name: ADOBE-ACROBAT-SOFTWARE.COM
Name Server: ns3.nic.ru
Name Server: ns4.nic.ru
Name Server: ns8.nic.ru
Creation Date: 2010.10.16
Expiration Date: 2011.10.16Status: DELEGATED
Registrant ID: ZA5XXWT-RU
Registrant Name: John Terry
Registrant Organization: John Terry
Registrant Street1: 1729 Park Way
Registrant City: London
Registrant Postal Code: H38LA92
Registrant Country: GB
So it’s some form of Russian scam? Certainly, the UK address is not genuine and John Terry is just an infamous footballer, who most people have heard of the name.
McDonalds Customer Survey
This seemed another bit of pointless spam, but then I didn’t click the link to a web site in Malaysia.
Dear customer,
Please give us only 5 minutes of your valuable time to ask you some questions about our products . Please be aware that we will not ask you about any personal information.In return, we will credit $90.00 to your account – just for your time.
If you want to answer our simply 8 questions , please click the link below :
Thank you for helping us to become better .Sincerely, McDonald’s Survey Department.
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
I should say though that my ISP marked it as spam and it was to that mythical person, “undisclosed-recipients” I suspect that the link asks for your bank account details, so they can empty it.
Dealing with scams like these, is a bit like getting Health and Safety right. It’s just common sense, stupid!
Is the Stuxnet Virus Good News?
There is a new computer virus on the block called Stuxnet. It supposedly targets industrial systems, with the aim of taking control or shutting them down. But it appears to be aimed at Iran and possibly its controversial nuclear power station at Bushehr. According to this article in the Guardian, it would appear that it has been created after a lot of work. Judging by the possible target, fingers are being pointed at Israel.
So why do I think this could be good news?
Most viruses target computers without any security, with the aim of controlling them to send more spam or to get logins and passwords for such things as bank accounts.
Stuxnet appears to be aiming to control industrial computers or factories, where the cost of being infected will be much greater. So Stuxnet will actually mean the virus protection companies will step up their efforts to prevent cyber attacks, which will be good for us all.
Also, something as high-profile as Stuxnet with all the associated publicity, should mean that more and more people will get the protection against viruses they should.
My one worry is that the sophisticated techniques that Stuxnet uses may make viruses that attack computers like e-mail servers more difficult to fight.
Spammers Can’t Spell
We all know that, but I’ve just had a phishing scam purporting to be from HSBC from an e-mail of hsbc@suport.co.uk.
I was curious about suport.co.uk and whether anybody would actually want such a mispelled domain. They don’t! So if you want it, you can have it!
It just shows how when a domain name appears odd for the company who supposedly sent the e-mail, the message is usually spam!
My Foxtrot Oscar Signature
I use this e-mail signature to annoy spammers and those that won’t take no for an answer.
I have better things to do with my life, than deal with spam.
If I get another from you, you’ll be reported automatically to the ICO.
To put it politely, Foxtrot Oscar
They generally don’t come back to me! But then threatening someone with the ICO, I like slapping them on the wrist with a very small feather.
Best of Salineville Award
I’ve received this e-mail in the past and can’t quite fathom out, how they screw me for money. But they will somewhere along the line.
Earlier this year, I sent a notification email to you recognizing that Xxxxx Xxxxxx has been selected for the 2010 Best of Salineville Award in the Animal Farms category by the US Commerce Association (USCA).http://salineville.uscommassoc.com/XXX-XXXX-XXX
I’m sure that your selection as a 2010 Award Winner is a reflection of the hard work of not only yourself, but of many people that have supported your business and contributed to the subsequent success of your organization. Congratulations on your selection to such an elite group of small businesses. In recognition of your achievement, a special 2010 Best of Salineville Award has been designed for display at your place of business. You may arrange to have your award sent directly to James Miller by following the simple steps on the 2010 Best of Salineville Award order form. Simply copy and paste this link into your browser to access the order form:
The USCA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.posted on the USCA website. USCA hereby grants Xxxxx Xxxxxx a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, and display this press release in any media formats and through any media channels.
Also, a copy of the press release publicizing the selection of Xxxxx Xxxxxx is
In order to provide you with the best possible service, you have been assigned an award code that can be used on our website for quick access to your award information and press release. If you have any questions or comments, please include this code with your correspondence.
Your Award Code is: XXX-XXXX-XXX
To place your order over the phone – please call us at: 877-312-9340 and select option 1.
If anybody has any idea how these crooks work, please add a comment to this post.
I did reply in my usual Foxtrot Oscar mode!
Sincerely,
A Post From an Anti-Spam List
I belong to an anti-spam list called Spammers Don’t Like Us.
This was posted today.
Several years back, my now ex and I tried SPAM(R) sandwiches for dinner one night. It didn’t agree with me for some reason. Woke up mumbling a whole bunch of stuff about pills, weight loss, credit cards, discounts, coupon codes, marketing opportunities, etc. Then I just spewed vomit everywhere.
My then wife said “Five five what?? Message? What Message?” I said back to her “Honey, I bounced the spam.” The whole thing was very freudian.
Also was my one and only experience as a backscatterer.
As a coeliac, I should ask if Spam is gluten-free.
The Anonymous Widower 