Security Response: Showing posts tagged with Security Response: Showing posts by Dylan Morss

Spammers Loved Brangelina for the Oscars!

Dylan Morss | March 2, 2009

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Over the month of February I decided to keep an eye on spam messages that were using the cult of the Academy Awards celebrity to peddle products. I tracked spam using the names of the actors nominated for best actor and actress in a leading role in the subject line.

The results were overwhelming! It seems that although an Oscar nomination can mean big bucks and recognition in the world of big budget films, studios, and pop culture, it doesn't carry so much weight in the world of spam finance.

Of the ten actors nominated, only three appeared in spam subject lines in February. Anne Hathaway received an honorable mention with one spam message. The rest of the spam went to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The other seven actors received no spam counts and will have to be satisfied with not being chosen to help fatten the pockets of spammers. If the spammers could vote for the awards, it’s obvious that things would have turned out a whole lot...

Tags: Endpoint Protection (AntiVirus), Security, Spam, Security Response

Spammers Final Attempt to Seduce Your Clicks With Valentine Love

Dylan Morss | February 12, 2009

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This is the third and probably final blog entry for me on Valentine’s Day spam as the minutes tick off before the holiday. Since my last post on February 3, we have continued to observe an increase in spam messages associated with this lovers’ holiday.

I narrowed my search to the month of February, so the data in this blog article only covers spam from February 1 until today. As a throwback to my first Valentine’s Day blog post, I thought I would pull up a recent list of Valentine’s Day spam subject lines.

The top 20 Valentine’s Day-related subject lines for February:

St. Valentine's bomus
Casino St. Valentine's Day
St. Valentine's Casino
Casino - St. Valentine's day
St. Valentine's casino
St. Valentine's games in Casino
St. Valentine's Bonus
Send Valentines Day...

Tags: Endpoint Protection (AntiVirus), Security, Spam, Security Response

What’s in a Valentine’s Day Spam Word?

Dylan Morss | February 3, 2009

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After I posted a blog entry last week (1/28/2009) on Valentine’s Day spam subject lines, I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at specific words related to Valentine’s Day that have been appearing in spam subject lines recently to see if there were any trends. I had previously noted an increase in the appearance of a few Valentine’s Day related words; “cupid,” “Feb 14,” and “February 14,” and I wanted to expand the search a bit. I was hoping to try and redeem the reputation of Valentine’s Day spam since my previous post put the spammer’s intentions in a less romantic light than the holiday warrants. I decided to search for traditional Valentine phrases such as the following: chocolate, cupid, Feb 14, February 14, flowers, heart, jewelry, Valentine, and Valentine...

Tags: Endpoint Protection (AntiVirus), Security, Spam, Security Response

Need the Perfect Valentine’s Day gift? (Spam’s Suggestions)

Dylan Morss | January 28, 2009

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What would your Valentine like this year? Perhaps a shopping spree, a watch, cash, or an assortment of E.D. or weight loss pills?

We are nearing the end of January and Valentine’s Day spam is in full swing. Spammers have been busy making sure they have the perfect gift for your loved ones this year.

The top 20 Valentine’s Day spam subject lines seem more like a laundry list of solutions for a cast of depressed porn stars than an array of truly romantic gifts. What says "Happy Valentine’s Day" quite as well as "Hi Sweetie, here are some weight loss pills for you this year, maybe you can drop a few pounds!"?

The top 20 Valentine’s Day-related subject lines for January

Increase your length, the best valentine's gift
Show off your length for valentine's
Get it before Valentine's day and watch her smile
You have been...

Tags: Endpoint Protection (AntiVirus), Security, Spam, Security Response

An Early Holiday Gift—The Return of Spam

Dylan Morss | December 19, 2008

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After the shutdown of McColo, which was aiding the distribution of about half of all spam on the internet globally, spam volumes dropped. However, since mid-November, spam volumes have been slowly inching their way back up as old botnets are being brought back online and potential new botnets are being created.

At this point, spam volumes have slowly crept back up to 80 percent of their pre-McColo shutdown levels (when reviewing daily averages):

The types of spam being seen in new attacks are similar to what was being sent around the Internet prior to the shutdown. The spam messages can be categorized into the following groups:

Replica watches
Generic pharmacy
Erectile dysfunction drugs
Weight loss
Software

The spam is...

Tags: Endpoint Protection (AntiVirus), Security, Spam, Security Response

Spam Volumes Making a Comeback After the McColo Shutdown?

Dylan Morss | November 24, 2008

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Although spam levels remain at a relatively low volume following the takedown of the spam host McColo last week, there is some evidence that spammers are starting to prepare for a rally. Late last week we observed the spam volume spike as much as 150% in an hour-to-hour comparison, which is about a seven percent increase since McColo was shut down.

In addition to overall spam volumes, the percentage of spam messages containing the text/HTML content type mime part jumped to 55% of all spam, indicating a change in the overall makeup of spam. Prior to the McColo takedown, the overall percentage of spam messages containing the text/HTML content type mime part was over 55%, but after the takedown the average has been around 34%. This change indicates that a return to normal spam activity could be in the works.

When we took a closer look at the spam contained in the spikes, it was revealed that there was an increased use of HTML. The spam messages were typical “...

Tags: Endpoint Protection (AntiVirus), Security, Spam, Security Response

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