Hackers spread malware with ‘Hilary Clinton’ spam
February 17, 2008 | Category: Newsbreak, Spamcatch Featured
Cybercriminals may have weighed risk and reward and figured that the first isn’t worth the second if they try to exploit the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, a security researcher at Symantec Corp. said today.
At least for now.
“We’ve now seen just two instances of spam using political candidates to spread malicious code,” said Oliver Friedrichs, director of Symantec’s security response team and a writer on electoral cybercrime. “I think [hackers] are still a little skittish. The high visibility of the federal elections makes them cautious about stepping into it.”
Earlier this week, researchers at both Symantec and McAfee Inc. reported a spam run that tried to trick users into downloading a Trojan horse posing as a video of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) supposedly shot before Tuesday’s Virginia primary. “Hilary [sic] Clinton visited her campaign headquarters in Virginia and did satellite interviews, looking beyond Tuesday’s trio of contests and touting the importance of a March 4 vote in Ohio,” the bogus e-mail read. “Full video. Download it now!”
Users who clicked the embedded link, however, were faced with a file pegged “mpg.exe.” That file was actually a downloader, which in turn retrieved and installed the “Srizbi” Trojan horse — malware that turns Windows-running PCs into spam-spewing bots.
The other example of what Friedrichs has called “electoral cybercrime” was a late-October 2007 spam blast ostensibly promoting Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and his campaign for the Republican Party nomination. More than a month after that attack, which had links to the Srizbi Trojan horse like the Clinton one this week, researchers at SecureWorks Inc. linked the spam to a Ukrainian botnet. Read Complete article here.
No Spam Rules and Email Marketing Strategy
February 16, 2008 | Category: Block spam
No spam rules are very stringent and are of two types. Many countries actually have laws against spamming, or sending out of unsolicited emails. These laws can be very strict and have severe penalties and need to be checked in each country where you will do business on an individual basis.
The EU, or European Union has implemented Article 13 of their Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications which says people must give prior consent, or opt in. The media calls this in Europe of the “Opt In Directive”. It does however have several exemptions allowed. In the United Kingdom the Data Management Association has adopted strict rules requiring opt in. The US Congress is considering legislation along those lines.
In Canada an Ontario Superior Court of Justice made history in the battle against spam through claiming that it was a breach of netiquette, or net etiquette. This case occurred when a serial spammer sued a Toronto company for breach of contract. The company, an ISP, terminated the plaintiff account because the spammer sent out 200,000 junk emails per day. The judge ruled in favor of the ISP and against the spammer.
However, most no spam rules concerning email marketing are rules of etiquette equivalent to the morays of society discussed in sociology classes. Sending unsolicited email is considered a taboo in the Internet community. It is not just rude and socially unacceptable behavior, but it is considered a violation of the strict moral codes that govern email marketing.
Legitimate email marketers who earn their livelihood from email marketing will never ever send out spam. Sending out spam is the mark of an amateur, and a charlatan. Sending out spam will get a person blackballed in the email marketing community. People will refuse to do business with a company that sends out spam. Their Internet Service Providers will often drop them from the servers and refuse to allow their email to pass. They may even take down their websites.
As far as handling spam is concerned, there are several things to keep in mind. First, all unsolicited junk mail or bulk mail should be considered spam. Also, if it makes an offer that seems too good to be true, then it is spam. Remember to be suspicious of all spam and never give them personal or financial information.
Never reply to spammers because that tells them that you exist and you will continue to receive spam from them. Also never “opt out” of spammers. Reputable companies allow you to opt out of mailing lists, but spammers are not reputable people or they would not be spamming. Read full article here.