TechStuffCanada

jargon-free tech news for non-technical people

Are we losing the war against junk email?

December 6, 2006 › Sandy McMurray | comment

No, not this kind of spam... There's a good article about spam (junk email) in today's New York Times. The author is Brad Stone. Here's the link:
Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself

If your Inbox is filled with junk, you're not alone. Spam is on the rise again, thanks to some new techniques that are making spam smarter than the current junk filters.

The biggest new problems are image spam and "zombie" computers.

The most noticeable problem is image spam -- junk email that uses pictures rather than text to make its pitch. Although some junk filters are smart enough to scan images for unwanted text, image spam often uses layered images that break the text into bits that can't be spotted by machines. That makes it hard to automate the search for spam.

The other big problem is "zombie" computers, also known as "botnets" -- Windows PCs that have been hijacked and turned into spam-sending machines. According to Internet security firm IronPort, more than 80% of spam comes from infected PCs. If your Windows computer seems sluggish and slow when you're connected to the Internet, you might want to scan for unauthorized network activity. Your PC may have already been "borrowed" by a spammer.

The combination of image spam and zombie computers has increased the flow of unwanted electronic mail, and antispam firms are involved in an arms race with the spammers.

WHY DO PEOPLE SEND SPAM?
What's the point of all this junk mail? To make money, of course!

Most messages in the current flood of spam are promoting penny stocks. This is a modern version of the classic "pump and dump" stock scam: the scammer buys inexpensive stock in an obscure company, then tells the world to buy, buy, BUY! If enough suckers buy shares, the value of the scammer's stock goes up, and he can sell at a tidy profit.

According to the Times article, some antispam veterans are pessimistic about the future of this fight. Consider this quote from Patrick Peterson, VP for technology at Ironport: "As an industry I think we are losing. The bad guys are simply outrunning most of the technology out there today.”

Junk email is more than an annoyance. Unwanted messages slow the delivery of real email, and eat up bandwidth and Inbox storage space. Antispam software costs a bundle, and may block or delete "good" messages we want to receive.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Antispam professionals will continue the fight against unwanted email messages. That's their business, after all.

Meanwhile, you can do your part to stop spam. Windows users should use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, to protect against infection. You should also scan your system regularly with security software that checks for unauthorized network activity. Make sure your computer is not a "zombie" that sends spam to other people.

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
Here are some security software solutions you can use to address the virus and spam problems:

- Microsoft Live OneCare Safety Scanner - free application
- Microsoft Live OneCare - 90 day trial version
- McAfee - 30 day trial version
- Symantec Norton Anti-Virus - 30 day trial version
- Ad-Aware SE Personal (free)
- Webroot Spy Sweeper - free online scan

December 6, 2006 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item