Hey everyone! I told you that my next rant would be about junk mail. However, after recent developments in the news, I decided to focus on spam. No, I don't mean the canned meat you can buy in the supermarket. That would be Spam, not spam... Yes, my original intention was to discuss Junk Mail, meaning unsolicited and/or unwanted mail (both Snail Mail and E-mail) that we are all inundated with every day. My original aggravation was the hundreds of Bulk Mail items I get every day, as well as the ridiculous amount of mail that makes it to my Inbox because I supposedly subscribed to something just by doing business with a company. Of course, don't even get me started about the junk mail my father receives (mostly catalogs) in our USPS mailbox every day...
Anyway, by this point you are probably interested in what I meant by recent developments in the news. Well, on March 17, the US government, Microsoft, and other industry partners, brought down Rustock, a botnet believed to be responsible for sending 30 BILLION spam e-mails PER DAY! Now, the press has touted this as a huge development, which it is, but when taken in context, it can also be seen as a drop in the bucket. The estimation is that Rustock was responsible for 40% of the world's spam. Using those numbers, you can see that would mean spam bots send out 75 BILLION spam e-mails PER DAY! Now, I always tell my students not to use Wikipedia as a credible source in their academic documents, but as this is a blog, not a dissertation, I will direct you to the table in this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botnet. The chart shows that just the Cutwail botnet is responsible for 74 BILLION spam e-mails PER DAY!
“[Rustock] is estimated to have approximately a million infected computers operating under its control and has been known to be capable of sending billions of spam mails every day, including fake Microsoft lottery scams and offers for fake—and potentially dangerous—prescription drugs,” said Microsoft’s senior attorney in its Digital Crimes Unit Richard Boscovich, in a blog posting. “We are also now working with Internet service providers and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) around the world to help reach out to help affected computer owners clean the Rustock malware off their computers.”
Those infected computers are known as "zombies" to a botnet. That means that your computer, if a zombie for a botnet, could be running a program in the background that is controlled by the botnet command and control center. It could be sending out thousands of spam emails, or it could be inundating certain websites with activity to intentionally crash or slow down service to legitimate users.
How would you know if your computer is a zombie? You wouldn't. Sure, there are signs and symptoms. If your computer is significantly slower than it was just months ago, or even a year ago, and you haven't installed any significant CPU hogs recently, you could be a zombie. If your internet connection has slowed considerably, you could be a zombie. ISPs are increasing our Internet speed all the time, not slowing us down...
So, how can you combat this? Well, your first line of defense is to make sure your virus protection software is working and up-to-date. This is an annoying area for me. Many people think they don't need it, because they never open something from someone they don't know. Oh, bring me back to the simple days of the 80s, when that was all we needed to do... It is not all we need to do now. Additionally, many people TURN OFF their virus checkers because it makes it difficult for them to play games online. That is precisely the time you need to have it running! I can't tell you how many times I have had to fix my mom's computer because she turns off her virus checker so she can play download-able games.
By the way, you can download a bot just by participating in chats, IMing, reading e-mails, watching YouTube videos, posting comments, and so much more. And now, you can even get spam and viruses on your Smart Phones...
I just recently had to work on my brother's laptop because it would not install a virus checker. BTW, that is a HUGE indicator that you have a trojan. They are programmed to disable your virus checker and to prevent you from installing one, for their own survival, of course! For a good virus/spyware checker that does not hog your CPU, and is free for the basic version, go to free.avg.com.
Now, besides a simple virus checker, you should have spyware / malware detection software. You should DEFINITELY have a firewall! Of course, you need to leave them running, or they won't work...
Additionally, you should assist whenever you can. Many virus/spyware/malware packages collect information from users to help their systems work better. You can also send alert messages (forwarding the offending e-mail) to companies' Phishing/Spam departments.
Now, as for the amount of junk mail you receive. IF you subscribed to a newsletter or something like that, you can click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email and follow the prompts to remove your e-mail from their lists. However, if you did NOT subscribe, DO NOT click on the unsubscribe link. That just verifies your e-mail address and subjects you to MORE spam. Of course, the best thing you can do to not be a victim of spam is to not respond to it.
When you are signing up for something, or buying something, you might want to create a temporary e-mail account. Then, if you receive spam, you will know exactly where it came from and can alert the company with which you did business.
One of the purposes of spam is identity theft. Don't buy anything or sign up for anything which you received in an email. And when you receive an e-mail from someone who looks legit, make sure to go to their website directly by typing it in. DON'T click on the link provided in the e-mail. And NEVER send your passwords through email or give to anyone unless you can verify their identity.
Whew! There is so much more that I haven't even mentioned... Now I am really longing for the simple days when the Internet was text-based and only the government and students had access to it...
Anyway, I'm dating myself now...
Yes, you can be safe and avoid being a victim of spam. No, I don't mean avoid buying it at the supermarket... I mean beef up your technological savviness and stop believing everyone else should protect you. Remember, don't be a zombie...
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