Fighting Spam

How prevalent is Spam?  According to Scott McAdams, OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department (www.oma.org):

“Studies show unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for roughly half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the prevalence of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a general lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.”

In 2003, President Bush signed the  “Can Spam” bill, in December of 2003 which is the first national standards around bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail.  The bill, approved by the Senate by a vote of 97 to 0, prohibits senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from using false return addresses to disguise their identity (spoofing) and the use of dictionaries to generate such mailers. In addition, it prohibits the use of misleading subject lines and requires that emails include and opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses off Web sites. Violations constitute a misdemeanour crime subject to up to one year in jail. 

One major point that needs to be discussed about this: 

Spam is now coming from other countries in ever-greater numbers. These emails are harder to fight, because they come from outside our country’s laws and regulations.  Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem.

So what do you do about this? 

Here are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.

Number 1: 
Do what you can to avoid giving your email address out on
the net.  

There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to.  If you are interested, do a search on “spam spider” and you will be amazed at what you get back.

Interestingly, there is a site, WebPoison.org, which is an open
source project geared to fight Internet “spambots” and “spam
spiders”, by giving them bogus HTML web pages, which contain bogus email addresses

A couple of suggestions for you: 

a) use form emails, which can hide addresses or also b) use addresses like sales@company.com instead of
your full address to help battle the problem. c) There are also
programs that encode your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that while spam spiders find it, it is difficult or impossible to read your email address.

Number 2: 
Get spam blocking software.  There are many programs out
there for this.  (go to www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net for example).  You may also buy a professional version.  Whatever you do, get the software. It will save you time.  The software is not foolproof, but they really do help.  You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.

Number 3:
Use the multiple email address approach.

There are a lot of free email addresses to be had.  If you must
subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your cell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.

Number 4: 
Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.

A common problem with spam is that they have attachments and attachments can have viruses.  Corporations often have filters that don’t let such things pass to you.  Personal email is far more “open country” for spammers. 

General rule of thumb:  if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT.  Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.

Number 5: 
Email services now have “bulk-mail” baskets.  If what you
use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new
vendor.  The concept is simple.  If you know someone, they can send you emails.  If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle.  Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.

 Bob Matharoo has also written an interesting article on Spam,  check it out here

Phishing For Your Identity

Who hasn’t received an email directing them to visit a
familiar website where they are being asked to update their
personal information?  The website needs you to verify or
update your passwords, credit card numbers, social security
number, or even your bank account number.  You recognize
the business name as one that you’ve conducted business
with in the past.  So, you click on the convenient “take me
there” link and proceed to provide all the information they
have requested.  Unfortunately, you find out much later
that the website is bogus.  It was created with the sole
intent to steal your personal information.  You, my friend,
have just been “phished”.

Phishing (pronounced as “fishing”) is defined as the act
of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have
an established, legitimate business.  The intent of the
phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their
private information, and ultimately steal your identity.

It is not at easy as you think to spot an email phishing
for information.  At first glance, the email may look like
it is from a legitimate company. The “From” field of the e-
mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in
the e-mail.  The clickable link even appears to take you to
the company’s website, when in fact, it is a fake website
built to replicate the legitimate site.

Many of these people are professional criminals.  They
have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look
authentic.  Users need to review all emails requesting
personal information carefully.  When reviewing your email
remember that the “From Field” can be easily changed by the
sender.  While it may look like it is coming from a .com
you do business with, looks can be deceiving.  Also keep in
mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make
their email look as legitimate as possible.  They will even
copy logos or images from the official site to use in their
emails.  Finally, they like to include a clickable link
that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their
information.
A great way to check the legitimacy of the link is to
point at the link with your mouse. Then, look in the bottom
left hand screen of your computer.  The actual website
address to which you are being directed will show up for
you to view.  It is a very quick and easy way to check if
you are being directed to a legitimate site.

Finally, follow the golden rule.  Never, ever, click the
links within the text of the e-mail, and always delete the
e-mail immediately. Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty
the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well. If you are
truly concerned that you are missing an important notice
regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL
address of the website into your browser.  At least then
you can be confident that you are, in fact, being directed
to the true and legitimate website.

Why Do I Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me?

Spyware is one of the fastest-growing internet threats.  According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware infects more than 90% of all PCs today.  These unobtrusive, malicious programs are designed to silently bypass firewalls and anti-virus software without the user’s knowledge.  Once embedded in a computer, it can wreak havoc on the system’s performance while gathering your personal information.  Fortunately, unlike viruses and worms, spyware programs do not usually self-replicate. 

 

Where does it come from?

Typically, spyware originates in three ways.  The first and most common way is when the user installs it.  In this scenario, spyware is embedded, attached, or bundled with a freeware or shareware program without the user’s knowledge.  The user downloads the program to their computer.  Once downloaded, the spyware program goes to work collecting data for the spyware author’s personal use or to sell to a third-party.  Beware of many P2P file-sharing programs.  They are notorious for downloads that posses spyware programs.

The user of a downloadable program should pay extra attention to the accompanying licensing agreement.  Often the software publisher will warn the user that a spyware program will be installed along with the requested program.  Unfortunately, we do not always take the time to read the fine print.  Some agreements may provide special “opt-out” boxes that the user can click to stop the spyware from being included in the download.  Be sure to review the document before signing off on the download.

Another way that spyware can access your computer is by tricking you into manipulating the security features designed to prevent any unwanted installations.  The Internet Explorer Web browser was designed not to allow websites to start any unwanted downloads.  That is why the user has to initiate a download by clicking on a link.  These links can prove deceptive.  For example, a pop-up modeled after a standard Windows dialog box, may appear on your screen.  The message may ask you if you would like to optimize your internet access.  It provides yes or no answer buttons, but, no matter which button you push, a download containing the spyware program will commence. Newer versions of Internet Explorer are now making this spyware pathway a little more difficult.

Finally, some spyware applications infect a system by attacking security holes in the Web browser or other software.  When the user navigates a webpage controlled by a spyware author, the page contains code designed to attack the browser, and force the installation of the spyware program.

What can spyware programs do?

Spyware programs can accomplish a multitude of malicious tasks.  Some of their deeds are simply annoying for the user; others can become downright aggressive in nature.

Spyware can:

1.            Monitor your keystrokes for reporting purposes.

2.            Scan files located on your hard drive.

3.            Snoop through applications on our desktop.

4.            Install other spyware programs into your computer.

5.            Read your cookies.

6.            Steal credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information.

7.            Change the default settings on your home page web browser.

8.            Mutate into a second generation of spyware thus making it more

         difficult to eradicate.

9.            Cause your computer to run slower.

10.        Deliver annoying pop up advertisements.

11.        Add advertising links to web pages for which the author does not get paid.  Instead, payment is directed to the spyware programmer that changed the original affiliate’s settings.

12.        Provide the user with no uninstall option and places itself in unexpected or hidden places within your computer making it difficult to remove.

Spyware Examples

Here are a few examples of commonly seen spyware programs.  Please note that while researchers will often give names to spyware programs, they may not match the names the spyware-writers use. 

CoolWebSearch, a group of programs, that install through “holes” found in Internet Explorer. These programs direct traffic to advertisements on Web sites including coolwebsearch.com. This spyware nuisance displays pop-up ads, rewrites search engine results, and alters the computer host file to direct the Domain Name System (DNS) to lookup preselected sites. 

Internet Optimizer (a/k/a DyFuCa), likes to redirect Internet Explorer error pages to advertisements. When the user follows the broken link or enters an erroneous URL, a page of advertisements pop up.

180 Solutions reports extensive information to advertisers about the Web sites which you visit.  It also alters HTTP requests for affiliate advertisements linked from a Web site.  Therefore the 180 Solutions Company makes an unearned profit off of the click through advertisements they’ve altered.

HuntBar (a/k/a WinTools) or Adware.Websearch, is distributed by Traffic Syndicate and is installed by ActiveX drive-by downloading at affiliate websites or by advertisements displayed by other spyware programs.  It’s a prime example of how spyware can install more spyware.   These programs will add toolbars to Internet Explorer, track Web browsing behavior, and display advertisements.

How can I prevent spyware?

There are a couple things you can do to prevent spyware from infecting your computer system.  First, invest in a reliable commercial anti-spyware program.

I recommend you follow this link  http://www.linkbrander.com/go/34613 and read more and you can also scan your PC for free. There are several others on the market including stand alone software packages such as Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware available for free at http://www.lavasoft.de/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php or Windows Antispyware.  Other options provide the anti-spyware software as part of an anti-virus package.  This type of option is offered by companies such as Sophos, Symantec, and McAfee. Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware by providing real-time protection, scanning, and removal of any found spyware software.   As with most programs, update your anti virus software frequently. 

As discussed, the Internet Explorer (IE) is often a contributor to the spyware problem because spyware programs like to attach themselves to its functionality.  Spyware enjoys penetrating the IE’s weaknesses.  Because of this, many users have switched to non-IE browsers.  However, if you prefer to stick with Internet Explorer, be sure to update the security patches regularly, and only download programs from reputable sources.  This will help reduce your chances of a spyware infiltration.

 

And, when all else fails?

Finally, if your computer has been infected with a large number of spyware programs, the only solution you may have is backing up your data, and performing a complete reinstall of the operating system.

Surfing the Web Anonymously

Surfing the Web Anonymously – Questions to Ask

When you surf the web it is possible to learn information about you even when you don’t want to advertise who you are. This is true even if your system contains no virus or malware software. Specifically information that is easily available online includes your IP address, your country (and often more location information based on IP address), what computer system you are on, what browser you use, your browser history, and other information. It gets worse. People can get your computer’s name and even find out your name if your machine supports programs like finger or identd. Also, cookies can track your habits as you move from machine to machine.

How do people get this basic information about you?
When you visit another web site, information about you can be retrieved. Basically, information is intercepted and used by others to track your Internet activities.

How do you stop this from happening?
First of all, it is possible to surf the web anonymously and thereby stop leaving a trail for others to find. Note that this is not fool-proof, but it makes it much harder for people to know who you are. There are products called anonymous proxy servers that help protect you. The anonymous proxy server replaces your Internet address for its own. This has the effect of hiding your IP address and making it much harder for people to track you.

How do I get an anonymous proxy server?
There are many vendors who sell anonymous proxy servers. There are also free proxy servers available to you.

Three such products are YouProxy, ShadowSurf and Guardster.

Guardster offers various services for anonymous and secure access to the web, some paid as well as a free service.

YouProxy allows you to browse the internet securely. You can unblock popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, YouTube, Friendster and many other sites. Feel free to browse 24/7 and don’t forget to tell your friends!

ShadowSurf ShadowSurf provides anonymous surfing at their site for free. Go to it and you will find a box to enter a URL that you want no one to track. There are many others, but here are three that are frequently used.

Another interesting product, given the recent news about the Google search engine filtering its findings for the Chinese government, is Anonymizer. This company, among others, recently (Feb 1st, 2006) pressed that it “is developing a new anti-censorship solution that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter free” (http://www.anonymyzer.com/consumer/media/press_releases/02012006.html).

With AnonyMouse you can unblock popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, YouTube, Orkut, Friendster and many other sites. It’s a free web based proxy server which hides your IP and allows you to surf in complete anonymity without installing anything on your PC.

Does an anonymous proxy server make you 100% safe?
No. Still, you are much better off if you use such technology.
What other things should I be concerned about when trying to keep my private information private?

Three other items come to mind when trying to keep your information private.

First, you can use an encrypted connection to hide your surfing.

This article does not go into detail on this, but search the web and you will find a lot of information on this.

Secondly, delete cookies after each session.

Third, you can configure your browser to remove JavaScript, Java, and active content. This actually leads to limitations, so you need to think about the cost/benefit of this course of action.

Anything else?

Wishing you happy and safe surfing!