Parker: More on spam - scary stuff

[Parker]

Below is a link to an interview with Steve Linford, who is the head of Spamhaus, one of the leading anti-spam organizations.

Everyone with a computer running Windows and a high speed Internet connection (cable modem or DSL) should read this article.

The scary part comes about halfway through the interview:

Linford says he has intercepted chat-room conversations between spammers and crackers, the name for malicious hackers who write computer viruses and steal credit card numbers. The spammers have been seeking ways to send their messages to avoid the blocking systems created by Internet providers.

"In the last six months, the cracker world has joined the spammer world," Linford said.

Aided by crackers, the spammers have secretly infected and taken control of thousands of computers around the world, most of them owned by home users with high-speed Internet connections.

These machines -- called zombie drones -- relay mail for spammers and serve as hosts for the Web sites where people are sent by spam, all without the computer owner's knowledge.

Anyone who is running Windows and has a high speed Internet connection should, at the very least, visit the Windows Update website on a weekly basis (or more frequently) to check for and install the latest critical updates. These are usually patches for security holes.

Do not use Outlook/Outlook Express for your e-mail client.

Windows XP comes with a firewall that is turned off by default. Turn it on. If you're running an older version of Windows, visit Zone Labs website (www.zonelabs.com) and download the Zone Alarm firewall. There is a free version available for individual users.

Better yet, consider a hardware firewall. These are relatively inexpensive (around $40-100 US) and are typically combined with a router, which will allow the user to connect more than one computer to his/her high speed Internet connection.

(The interview linked to below originally appeared in The New York Times. However, the NY Times' website requires that visitors register before gaining access to the archives. Registration is free, but the link below does not require any registration.)

Steve Linford Interview

[foo]

This has been going on a bit longer than most people realize.

Baysian Filters can do a good job in catching most spam (www.spamassassin.org ... is one example).

I receive roughly 50 'spams' a day. The filters catch about 47 of them. I can deal with 3 spams a day.

foo

[Magician]

Software to exploit security holes and gain administrator privileges on remote machines ("root kits") can be found all over the internet. You don't need to no anything about TCP/IP or DDoS or SYN floods to use these programs - you just point and click. It's so easy that a 13-year old "script kiddy" can bring enough "zombie" machines under his control to bring down one of the largest internet sites on a whim. See the link below... then visit Windows update.

The Attacks on GRC.COM

[Norm Wattenberger]

is that it downloads security updates in the background automatically.

[Norm Wattenberger]

I just received a SPAM from the US Postal Service - "Holiday shipping and mailing made simple."