The vast majority of spam (83 per cent) is linked to sites established through ten domain name registrars, according to a new study.

An analysis of junk mail messages by anti-spam firm Knujon (”no junk” spelled backwards) found that while there are 900 accredited domain name registrars, spammers register their spamvertised domains though only a tiny sample.

Keep reading “‘Spam-friendly’ domain registrars named and shamed” »

After undermining the usefulness of email, turning newsgroups into a forum for promoting sex sites and filling blog comment sections with adverts for penis pill adverts and get rich quick schemes, spammers have set their sights on a new target – Twitter.

Richard Stiennon of ThreatChaos.com has published an analysis explaining how spammers are lining up to exploit the popular micro-blogging service as a medium for junk mail messages.

Keep reading “Spammers target Twitter” »

Junk mail levels are back to 80-90 per cent of their volumes prior to the takedown of infamous junk mail-friendly ISP McColo in November 2008 last year.

Spam levels are up 4.9 percentage points since December 2008 to 74.6 percent, reaching levels close to those prior to the McColo takedown, according to an analysis by email and web filtering firm MessageLabs published on Monday.

Keep reading “Spam volumes increase to pre-McColo takedown levels” »

The demise late last year of four of the world’s biggest spam botnets was good news for anyone with an email inbox, as spam levels were cut in half – almost overnight. But the vacuum has created opportunities for a new breed of bots, some of which could be much tougher to bring down, several security experts are warning.

New botnets with names like Waledac and Xarvester are filling the void left by the dismantling of Storm and the impairment of Bobax, Rustock, and Srizbi, these researchers say. The new breed of botnets – massive networks of infected Windows machines that spammers use to blast out billions of junk messages – sport some new designs that may make them more immune to current take-down tactics.

Keep reading “Next-gen botnet armies fill spam void” »

First is NorthwestAirlines.zip which is a trojan that comes on a fake Northwest Airlines ticket email.

From: Damian Muller
Subject: E-ticket #4418910180
Hello!
Thank you for using our new service “Buy Northwest Airlines ticket Online” on our website.
Your account has been created:
Your login: ida.camacho@t********.com
Your password: passXNK0
Your credit card has been charged for $471.52.
We would like to remind you that whenever you order tickets on our website you get a discount of 10%!
Attached to this message is the purchase Invoice and the Northwest Airlines ticket.
To use your ticket, simply print it on a color printed, and you are set to take off for the journey!
Kind regards,
Damian Muller
Northwest Airlines
Attachment: NorthwestAirlines.zip

UPSInv.zip is a trojan that comes in a fake UPS email.

From: United Postal Service
Subject: Delivery problems
Hello!

Sorry, we were not able to deliver postal package you sent on December the 25th 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 UPS Support Team
Attachment: UPSInv.zip

If you have opened the attachments on either on these emails, naughty, naughty. Luckily 411-Apyware has the instructions to remove NorthwestAirlines.zip and remove UPSInv.zip

Google has leapfrogged Microsoft to reach third place in a blacklist of spam-friendly ISPs, compiled by anti-spam organisation Spamhaus.org

Microsoft, which cropped up at fifth place on the November edition of the same list, has cleaned up its act to the extent that it no longer appears in the rogues’ gallery of the ten ISPs that are slackest in dealing with junk mail problems. Previously Microsoft’s live.com and livefilestore.com web properties were soft targets for penis pill purveyors, advance fee fraudsters and other junk mail swine, but this has changed over the last month or so.

Keep reading “Google picks up third spot in spam-friendly shame list” »

95% of Spam I am getting at the moment is from “Canadian Pharmacy” who seem to think that I have an erectile dysfunction that Viagra (that they just happen to sell) will cure.

The emails that they are sending have misleading subjects to trick you opening them so please, do not buy anything from Canadian Pharmacy.

There is no evidence that I can see that indicate Canadian Pharmacy is a scam, however with their aggressive Spam sending, I trust them as far as I can throw them.

Junk mail messages doing the rounds claim either Barack Obama or John McCain are dead in order to trick the credulous into visiting Canadian pharmacy websites. The messages, masquerading as breaking news, include subject such as “Barak and McCane killed”, “McCane died of heart stroke” and “McCane’s wife private video” – all reproduced here verbatim.

Most of the emails are pharmacy spam but some of them do lead to sites that try to install Trojans.

Read McCain “dead” email ruse punts penis pills for more information.

(FYI: for some links to software we receive a commission. This is one of them. But we wouldn’t recommend Spam Monitor if we didn’t think it would help.)

One piece of spam alleges to contain a link to video of Obama’s acceptance speech. If you follow the video link within the e-mail message you will be taken to a Web page where you’ll be asked to update your Adobe Flash Player with a file, adobe_flash9.exe, first. This is not an official Adobe update file and downloading this file may in turn infect your computer with a Trojan.

Remember to say no to any email that asks to install something to view a video.

Read Obama-themed malware on the rise for more Obama scams.

I’m really disappointed. While I was on holiday, I got some spam that was so amazing, three people I have never heard of sent this to me on the same day.

Hi,

We sell exactly Replicated SwissWatches With over 1,000,000 units sold worldwide!!
Hurry Up before inventory All gone!
You Can view our large Selection of BreitlingRolexes, Gucci, Cartier, Tag Heuer etc

http://rmdr.iakuc.cn

Best Regards,

Darren

CEO / President
Director of SwissWatches Inc

Sadly the website is now gone. That’s what I get for going away and enjoying myself. If you also missed out on this deal, print out this picture of a watch I drew for you then cut it out and tape it to your wrist. It’s a good quality watch* and it’s right twice a day!

* Please note that this watch is not waterproof.