Spam volumes jump 'with a vengeance'

[ronjor]

-{ Quote: "Hackers are also using techniques such as re-arranging as many as 25 tiny images into a message in an HTML email, or using animated GIF attachments to dodge optical character recognition technology." }-Story (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2168003/spam-volumes-jump-vengeance)

[ronjor]

Spam Soars, Expect Worse In 2007 -{ Quote: "Millions of PCs, the majority of them machines in non-business settings, have been hijacked and forced to send spam by a new wave of malware, including the prolific Stration (aka Warezov) line, which first made an impression on security vendors in October. "Worm attacks are now predictive of massive spam attacks," Druker says. "Massive botnets give spammers an unlimited free capacity to send billions of messages."" }- Article (http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196602463)

[lucas1985]

-{ Quote: "Hackers are also using techniques such as re-arranging as many as 25 tiny images into a message in an HTML email, or using animated GIF attachments to dodge optical character recognition technology.
" }-
This has duplicated the amount of spam that I receive each day

[phasechange]

If you use Thunderbird then image spam can easily be automatically treated as Junk by setting up this rule:

http://ossian.myby.co.uk/rule.png

To stop friendly emails being filtered just add any senders that are caught to your personal address book.

The next step is to take the contents of the Junk folder and forward (as attachments) all stock junk to stockjunk-AT-coldrain DOT net and all other spam to knujon at the same domain. Alternatively use the Knujon plugin: http://www.knujon.com/howtosend.html#Thunderbird

I have cut my spam down from about 100 a day to about 5 a day which is a remarkable success. It took time but I am getting there. I did ditch one of my three email addresses but this in no way accounts for the degree of success I have had. The drop off has been in the last week when everyone else seams to be getting swamped. "Stock Junk" is my only kind of spam now (with an occasional pharma-junk message). Try this but don't expect immediate results.

Phasechange

[Paranoid2000]

-{ Quote: "I have cut my spam down from about 100 a day to about 5 a day which is a remarkable success." }-If this is due to filtering, then whether it can be called a success is questionable. Spammers regard filters as an obstacle to be bypassed, if necessary by sending ten or a hundred times as many emails.

The only real method to cut down on spam is to "discourage" the spammers from sending it, specifically by imposing a cost on them. This can be done by draining bandwidth from their sites using a tool like SpamVampire but a more elegant method is to place fake orders (see New Spam Retaliation Tool (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=153745) for one example) which then cause them problems with their credit card processors.

There is moreover a new tool for simplifying the process of entering fake orders on several online pharmacies (including many of the worst spammers - My Canadian Phamarcy, Legal RX, Premier Pharmacy, FinestRx, ED Choice and others). It requires Firefox with the GreaseMonkey extension - see the Pharma KS FormFiller (http://thecarpcstore.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=459) thread for more details.

[phasechange]

I have reduced my Spam by reporting it to Knujon (after using Spamcop for a while with no noticeable benefit). As I am on various industry forums and am consulted by civil servants on communication policy I don't think it would be wise for me to indulge in retaliation which may be of dubious legality. I am not criticising others for doing so or making a judgement as to whether certain acts are legal or illegal. I just have to walk a cautious line if I am to retain my livelihood.

I am aware of the retaliation tools and was strongly tempted but haven't. It's "academic" now anyway as 95% of my spam is now stock spam which is another problem entirely.

The festive lull saw my spam intake drop to 0 a day on average however things have picked up and I am probably getting about 10 a day now :-( About two emails a week bypass my filters. All spam filtered or not, gmail or not, ends up being reported to Knujon.

Phasechange :lurking: