Internet Defense Technologies

Here is the tricky part: How do you know if someone who has spammed you has your email legitimately or from some less scrupulous means?

Well, the best way to determine if an unsubscribe will work is to determine the sender.

For example, some reputable online catalogs, merchandisers, retailers, etc., will send you spam. These are entities you know. These would be safe to unsubscribe to.

However, if you receive something telling you how they can enlarge something above your belly button or below your waistline or perhaps how they can get you prescription drugs for over 70% off, chances are not so safe to unsubscribe to these.

What is the difference and why?

Well, the reputable guys, people whose name you are familiar with, they are doing legal business and chances are at some point you checked a boxed on their website or in a store and asked them to send you offers. That’s likely how they got your email. But they are not in the business of antagonizing people, they just want your business and if getting emails from them irritates you why they are more than happy to stop.

Now the other guys, we’ll call these guys the spormers (spam porn) they are grateful to receive a message back from you asking to be “removed” because guess what? They can add your email to the coveted “verified address list” and sell that to other spormers stating that they have confirmed response from your email and therefore you are a more coveted email procurement.

Make sense?

So the rule of thumb is say no to the spormers by deleting them without opening, getting a proper spam filter that allows you to blacklist a specific address and generally staying off sites that could lead your email
address into a dark alley, so to speak. And for those annoying, yet innocuous emails from your local friendly supermarket, catalog, etc., kindly use their unsubscribe link usually located in the lower portion of the email or just reply with “remove” in your subject line.

I know it seems almost unbelievable that this could be the case, but the reality is, Spammers are some of the most unscrupulous people and if you were to email them back that you wanted to be removed from their list it is almost positive that they will take that as a bona fide email and sell it in the top tier of verified emails addresses.

Spammers aren’t necessarily on the same terms as the rest of us. My 11-year-old daughter got on a Spam list and was sent pornography. Totally untraceable to its original source and when I went in the police station to lodge a complaint they told me there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

If that same “Spam” was sent through the US Postal service that person would have committed a serious crime and would have been traceable because of the return address.

The surest measure against Spam is to stay of sites that will make you a Spam target and to have a really effective Spam solution.

Did you blind cc them????? If not, I would guess ALL your friends would call it spam!

There is nothing more annoying than having your email blasted to a bunch of people you don’t know and likely don’t want to know!

However, if you sent an email with a blind copy, you probably did okay and no, it isn’t really spam. At least most of your friends will think so, though there are bound to be a few who feel a little spammed.

Spam is technically classified as an unwanted, unsolicited email from a non recognizable source, in other words people emailing you and a massive number of other people who don’t know the emailer and never asked to be emailed.

Make sense?

You should check with your friends and see if they mind getting occasional blasts from you and anyone who does mind, take them off your list.  Then, stay away from the “cc” line on a mass email, it is just the more polite thing to do.

There is an email being sent around that looks like a legit UPS email, it is in fact bogus.

The subject line has this “UPS Tracking #” and then a bunch of numbers like: 6956309903 in it.

Below is the text of the email, if you receive this email do not open the attachment, it could have serious repercussions on your computer.

Dear Customers,

We were not able to deliver postal package you sent on the 10nd May in time because the recipient’s address is not correct.

Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office.

Your personal manager: Bart Heller,
Customer Service: 1-800-CALL-UPS
Fax: 888-031-3813
Your UPS

You may have seen a recent iTunes email that went something like this:

Subject: Thank you for buying iTunes Gift Certificate!

“Hello!

You have received an iTunes Gift Certificate in the amount of $50.00.  You can find your certificate code in attachment below.

Then you need to open iTunes. Once you verify your account, $50.00 will be credited to your account, so you can start buying music, games, video right away.

iTunes Store.”

Yes, it is a scam! Any time there is an attachment from someone you don’t know offering free goods or services, chances are it is a scam - don’t open the attachment! It could be a all kinds of different viruses and or spyware that can infect your computer.

iTunes is all over stopping this because it infringes on their name and copyright, but in the meantime tell your friends not to open it!

Today, May 3, 1978, was the first time a Spam message was sent via the Internet.

On May 3, 1978, the first documented spam message was sent out to 393 people. It was then customary to only send an individual message via email to a singular end user.

Who could have imagined that the laziness of one individual would have spawned an entire empire of spam?

He wanted to let an entire community know of a new computer model available and rather than spending the entire night typing individual emails he decided he would send one email to 393 people, turn off his computer and be home for dinner and a scotch!

The man who sent the “spam” was given a reprimand for doing so, but that one publicized event spurred on ideas of money making in men less extraordinary and more motivated by the all mighty dollar.

Today the spam industry, yes folks, it is classified as an industry is responsible for estimates as high as 90% of all email sent in the world, has cost businesses and individuals countless billions in lost revenue and time
and many people, their life savings after having been scammed.

It is an interesting comment on the world’s affairs that a single, innocent, lazy, act could result in such a mass cultural abomination.

So, I guess the moral of the story is, don’t be lazy!

Spam emails often contain certain types of virues, mal ware, etc., that can infect your computer, but in order to infect your computer you have to OPEN them.

Imagine you knew a person who had AIDS. Would you rub an open sore to a bloody sore on their body? Of course not.

I know it’s graphic, but the reality is that is not unlike the viruses your computer can get. It is a matter of life and death to your computer.

Spyware, in an instant, can rape your computer of vital information and take that information and deplete your savings or open credit card accounts in your name only to destroy your credit.

In today’s day and age, when electronics are so prevalent in our society the undoing of such viruses is so time consuming it sometimes can take years for someone to repair the damage done.

So, just let those spam emails die in your trash can and keep your computer and yourself safe.

Below is a real life email.

I got this email from a “friend” of mine.

When I called her, because I had a feeling that it was bogus, she told me someone had sent that from what appeared to be her email, but in fact it was a fraud.

This is a classic case of e-dentity theft. E-dentity theft is similar to identity theft, only it is where a person “clones” your email and sends an email that appears to be from you, but in fact, is not. It is dangerous in that if well written your friends and family could be taken advantage of because they think you are in trouble and need help.

ALWAYS report e-dentity theft to your local authorities. It is a serious crime and will continue to escalate until enough pressure is put on our legislature to really do something about it.

Please i want you to know that I’m writing this with tears in my eyes,i and my family came down here in SCOTLAND UNITED KINGDOM for a  short vacation unfortunately we got mugged at gun point last night at the park close, close to the hotel where we lodged.All cash,credit cards and cell got stolen.

I’ve been to the embassy and the Police here but they’re not responding to the matter effectively and the problem now is that,our flight leaves in 3hours but we’re having problems settling the hotel bills and our return ticket.The hotel manager won’t let us leave until we settle the hotel bills, so i need your help in getting back home. Need you to loan me some money for hotel bills and return ticket (1,810Pounds)which is 2,200 US dollars, Now am freaked out, don’t know what to do.Please reply and let me know if you can have the money wired to me as a loan through western union money transfer. Please use my name and the address given below to send the money and i promise to pay back as soon as i return.

Here is the information you need to send the money:

NAME    :  LEFT BLANK TO PROTECT E-DENITY
STATE   : Cambridge Cambridgeshire CODE LEFT OFF TO PROTECT E-DENITY
COUNTRY :United Kingdon

As soon as it has been done, kindly get back to me with the confirmation number. Let me know if you are heading to the WU outlet now???

Please how soon can you get the money sent?? Await to hear from you

The better question is do Spammers try to take advantage of anything that captivates the American attention?

The obvious answer: YES!!!

Get the idea that these guys are like the evil underworld version of advertisers. If they can get your attention, then by god, they will! Shy of running decapitation videos, they will stop at nothing. Although, that may soon become a gray area…

One security specialist from ZScaler, Michael Sutton, (who by the way, has an uncharacteristic resemblance to the dad from the Movie “The Incredibles”, so, how can you not believe him), stated something to the effect that Spammers who are targeting Olympic fans look so bonafide it is hard to tell that you are being hit with Malware. While that statement may make one feel less feebleminded about the fact that they foolishly got infected with something it nonetheless doesn’t change the fact that it is rampant and very dangerous for the end user.

Ultimately, this is a problem that has to be dealt with in the same way any vicious crime is dealt with, severity, incarceration and possibly public hangings, okay the last might be a little rough, but until then the best defense is a good offense.

Don’t download ANYTHING that you don’t FULLY understand. If you have an IT person make sure you have the latest Malware detection and the most up to the minute Spam solution to prevent the door from opening in the first place. If you are your own IT person talk to a friend, get on message boards, and do your research on real solutions to the problem of Spam!

In the past year the number of particles of Spam has increased so substantially it has become a major crisis in the security world.

One of the major issues with Spam is that much of the American public don’t even understand that they are in effect becoming “zombie computers” (a computer that is basically being run by some type of software that has “taken over” the actual computer and now turns out email etc that isn’t actually from the person who owns the computer) for the big Spammers.

Many Americans log onto a site rather innocently only to have their computer become a drone (like a worker bee in a hive, in this case used to illustrate the computer then is “working” for a spammer without the knowledge of the owner) for such large scale botnets as “Zeus” (a designer name for a type of spam/virus) or “Koobface” (another designer name for a type of Spam/virus). Unbeknownst, they become a carrier of viruses, spyware etc.

In real terms, it would be like someone carrying the HEPC virus, not knowing they had it and walking around French kissing everyone they came into contact with – graphic – I know, but nonetheless illustrative.

The recent increase in this doesn’t appear to have a level off point in sight, which is a major problem for the hi-tech industry at large. If the Spam problem continues on this trend the need for anti spam, anti virus, anti Malware solutions could explode.