Chapter 6 SPAM

Synopsis What is spam Why does spam keep coming Specialty spam Why doesn't someone stop the spammers How do spammers get the addresses Damage caused by spam Quick spam reduction techniques Serious spam control techniques

What is spam spam is unsolicited with advertisements, often stupid, sometimes offensive, and rarely with something you want/need. Examples:  Free religious t-shirts  Beautiful girls from …  Organ enhancing meds/herbs  Medications 

Why does spam keep coming It is profitable. (just by the numbers) Note: Many legitimate companies may send you commercial offerings over after (perhaps in some underhanded manner) getting your premission (opt-in). You may just as easily opt out; the instructions SHOULD be in the .

Specialty spam Malware and scam distribution Hobbit spam Empty spam SPIM Non- Spam (posted to dicussion groups, forums, blogs, etc...)

Why doesn't someone stop the spammers Very hard to do....  Change IP address  Go overseas Over 90% of today is consistently spam.

How do spammers get the addresses Website Harvesting Publicly available address books on web-based sites Dictionary Spamming Commercial lists Newsgroups, discussion forums, interactive websites Contests... forwarding Data theft

Damage caused by spam It costs money Wasted Productivity/time disconnect Annoying and offensive Danger to children Carries malware and scams Can get you kicked off the net

Quick spam reduction techniques NEVER respond to spam Don't post your address on the web Don't use mailto, use the code on page 173 Turn off image display in programs Turn on junk filtering

Serious spam control techniques Install an anti-spam program Fight back; send s to abuse at the correct ISP address.