Canada1824
02-05-2005, 07:58 PM
One more weapon in spammers' arsenal
JUNK E-MAIL SENT THROUGH NET PROVIDERS
By Dan Lee
Mercury News
More spam could be on the way to inboxes around the world as spammers have found a new tactic to bypass one of the most common methods for stopping the unwanted e-mail messages, according to e-mail security experts.
A new tool sold openly on the Internet can apparently enable spammers to avoid being ``blacklisted'' by spam filters. The tool, traced to a Russian site, adds a twist to their existing practice of hijacking armies of ``zombie'' personal computers to anonymously push out massive waves of e-mail pitches, said Mark Sunner, chief technology officer of British e-mail security provider MessageLabs.
``It means more spam for everybody,'' said Ray Everett-Church, counsel for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail.
E-mail experts called the shift in strategy another punch in the ongoing fight between the spammers and those who seek to block them.
Illegal spammers have long relied on sending their unsolicited e-mail through PCs, belonging to others, that can be controlled from a remote location mostly through malicious code left behind by computer viruses or spyware. But computer filters have been developed to thwart much of that ``zombie'' spam by identifying the source and blacklisting it.
But the new tool can re-route the spam so that it is sent from the ``zombie'' PCs to their Internet service providers' mail servers first, and from the ISP server to the intended recipient, according to MessageLabs. That disguises the origin of the spam, making the filter blacklist ineffective.
``It's a bit like laundering money. You could think of it as laundering spam,'' said Dane Jasper, chief executive of Santa Rosa-based ISP Sonic.net.
When that e-mail traffic is delivered through ISP servers, it's impossible to stop the spam without shutting down all traffic from those servers, according to e-mail experts.
``You've got hundreds of thousands, or millions, of PCs that are pumping out little bits of spam,'' said Michael Osterman, president of market researcher Osterman Research. ``Now it looks like it comes from the ISP itself.''
Spam already constitutes 80 percent of total e-mail, according to estimates, although much of that is blocked by computer filters from reaching inboxes. With such new methods, Spamhaus, a United Kingdom-based non-profit that tracks spamming groups, predicts the level of spam could reach 95 percent of total e-mail by 2006 -- a level that would produce ``signs of the beginning of a slow meltdown of e-mail delivery systems.''
Other anti-spam experts, however, downplayed the risks, saying there are other ways to fight spam beyond blacklisting that can still weed out spam from legitimate e-mail.
``I suspect this is going to be one of the tactics that will work for a short time,'' said Phillip Hallam-Baker, principal scientist for Internet services company VeriSign. ``I think most ISPs are going to be reasonable and are going to correct it.''
Tripp Cox, chief technology officer of EarthLink, said the Atlanta ISP has seen a gradual shift in spammers trying to send messages through ISP servers. But he said that actually gives ISPs a ``chokepoint'' to cut off spam.
ISPs can limit, or ``throttle,'' the amount of e-mail being sent by any one customer, including high-volume e-mail senders.
Spammers are finding the new tool through the Web site www.send-safe.com, Sunner said.
Scott Petry, vice president of Redwood City e-mail security company Postini, said Send-safe's tools appear to constantly scan the Internet for computers that can be used to send anonymous spam.
``This is the first time I've seen spam tools being so overtly marketed in a sort of professional manner,'' he said.
Other executives at e-mail security companies agreed the spam fighters have more weapons in their arsenals, but were still impressed by Send-safe's offerings.
It's ``the ultimate bulk e-mail tool,'' said Pavni Diwanji, chief executive of anti-spam company MailFrontier. ``Instead of shotguns, they have machine guns to fire the spam.''
The Web site describes its product as a ``bulk e-mail software program'' that provides ``real anonymous instant delivery.'' The site offers customer testimonials and offers a $50 test deal to send 400,000 e-mails.
``You can use your regular Internet connection because your IP address will never be shown in the e-mail headers,'' the site said.
According to a domain-name look-up, the site's owner is Ruslan Ibragimov of Moscow -- who along with Send-safe is listed on Spamhaus' list of known spam operations.
The Web site states that customers use PayPal, the popular online payment service, to pay for the tool. PayPal spokeswoman Sara Bettencourt said Friday that PayPal's policies prohibit its customers from selling tools primarily used to send spam, and that it was cutting ties with Send-safe.
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Nooo, more spam coming towards me, oh well. I am always ready!
JUNK E-MAIL SENT THROUGH NET PROVIDERS
By Dan Lee
Mercury News
More spam could be on the way to inboxes around the world as spammers have found a new tactic to bypass one of the most common methods for stopping the unwanted e-mail messages, according to e-mail security experts.
A new tool sold openly on the Internet can apparently enable spammers to avoid being ``blacklisted'' by spam filters. The tool, traced to a Russian site, adds a twist to their existing practice of hijacking armies of ``zombie'' personal computers to anonymously push out massive waves of e-mail pitches, said Mark Sunner, chief technology officer of British e-mail security provider MessageLabs.
``It means more spam for everybody,'' said Ray Everett-Church, counsel for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail.
E-mail experts called the shift in strategy another punch in the ongoing fight between the spammers and those who seek to block them.
Illegal spammers have long relied on sending their unsolicited e-mail through PCs, belonging to others, that can be controlled from a remote location mostly through malicious code left behind by computer viruses or spyware. But computer filters have been developed to thwart much of that ``zombie'' spam by identifying the source and blacklisting it.
But the new tool can re-route the spam so that it is sent from the ``zombie'' PCs to their Internet service providers' mail servers first, and from the ISP server to the intended recipient, according to MessageLabs. That disguises the origin of the spam, making the filter blacklist ineffective.
``It's a bit like laundering money. You could think of it as laundering spam,'' said Dane Jasper, chief executive of Santa Rosa-based ISP Sonic.net.
When that e-mail traffic is delivered through ISP servers, it's impossible to stop the spam without shutting down all traffic from those servers, according to e-mail experts.
``You've got hundreds of thousands, or millions, of PCs that are pumping out little bits of spam,'' said Michael Osterman, president of market researcher Osterman Research. ``Now it looks like it comes from the ISP itself.''
Spam already constitutes 80 percent of total e-mail, according to estimates, although much of that is blocked by computer filters from reaching inboxes. With such new methods, Spamhaus, a United Kingdom-based non-profit that tracks spamming groups, predicts the level of spam could reach 95 percent of total e-mail by 2006 -- a level that would produce ``signs of the beginning of a slow meltdown of e-mail delivery systems.''
Other anti-spam experts, however, downplayed the risks, saying there are other ways to fight spam beyond blacklisting that can still weed out spam from legitimate e-mail.
``I suspect this is going to be one of the tactics that will work for a short time,'' said Phillip Hallam-Baker, principal scientist for Internet services company VeriSign. ``I think most ISPs are going to be reasonable and are going to correct it.''
Tripp Cox, chief technology officer of EarthLink, said the Atlanta ISP has seen a gradual shift in spammers trying to send messages through ISP servers. But he said that actually gives ISPs a ``chokepoint'' to cut off spam.
ISPs can limit, or ``throttle,'' the amount of e-mail being sent by any one customer, including high-volume e-mail senders.
Spammers are finding the new tool through the Web site www.send-safe.com, Sunner said.
Scott Petry, vice president of Redwood City e-mail security company Postini, said Send-safe's tools appear to constantly scan the Internet for computers that can be used to send anonymous spam.
``This is the first time I've seen spam tools being so overtly marketed in a sort of professional manner,'' he said.
Other executives at e-mail security companies agreed the spam fighters have more weapons in their arsenals, but were still impressed by Send-safe's offerings.
It's ``the ultimate bulk e-mail tool,'' said Pavni Diwanji, chief executive of anti-spam company MailFrontier. ``Instead of shotguns, they have machine guns to fire the spam.''
The Web site describes its product as a ``bulk e-mail software program'' that provides ``real anonymous instant delivery.'' The site offers customer testimonials and offers a $50 test deal to send 400,000 e-mails.
``You can use your regular Internet connection because your IP address will never be shown in the e-mail headers,'' the site said.
According to a domain-name look-up, the site's owner is Ruslan Ibragimov of Moscow -- who along with Send-safe is listed on Spamhaus' list of known spam operations.
The Web site states that customers use PayPal, the popular online payment service, to pay for the tool. PayPal spokeswoman Sara Bettencourt said Friday that PayPal's policies prohibit its customers from selling tools primarily used to send spam, and that it was cutting ties with Send-safe.
--------------------------------
Nooo, more spam coming towards me, oh well. I am always ready!