for any spam, my ISP would give me one chance to clean it up or shut it down.
Google should not be allowed to let this continue. If they can not manage their network they need to be held to the same accountability as the small guy.
This is unacceptable.
Spammers using Google Sites to bypass filters
Summary
Junk emailers are using Google Sites to create web pages that can help spam get around corporate filters, according to MessageLabs
Topics
Spammers have added Google Sites to the arsenal of online tools used to get around junk-email filters, according to a study published on Tuesday by messaging security firm MessageLabs.
Spammers had already been making use of Google Docs, Google Page Creator and Google Calendar as spam-hosting facilities, but Google Sites is a recent addition, according to the MessageLabs Intelligence Report for July 2008. Junk emailers are using the tool to automatically create web pages with names composed of a string of random numbers and letters, resulting in an address that is more difficult for signature-based anti-spam tools to block, MessageLabs said.
The Google Sites abuse indicates that spammers are becoming more advanced at getting around the Captcha (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) mechanisms used to defend against the automated sign-up tools frequently used by junk emailers, said MessageLabs' chief security analyst, Mark Sunner.
"While Google Sites spam accounts for only one percent of all spam currently, we anticipate that this technique's popularity will rival that of its predecessors: Google Docs, Calendar and [Page Creator] spam," Sunner said in a statement.
The report found that the number of new, malicious websites blocked each day has increased by 91 percent, from 2,076 in June, to a daily average of 3,968 in July, with the increase largely due to websites linked to SQL injection attacks. This particular form of web-based threat is now at record levels, MessageLabs said.
The study found a new form of spam that is generated by botnets controlled by the Storm worm. The spam automatically downloads a rogue anti-spyware program called Antivirus XP 2008. The program displays a false list of malware infecting the user's system and demands the purchase of a license.
Out of all the web-based malware intercepted in July, 83.4 percent was new, MessageLabs said.
Analyzed by the industry sector of the organization receiving the junk email, MessageLabs found that spam levels have actually decreased for all except the non-profit sector, in which spam rose by 5.8 percent to account for 82.2 percent of all email.
,
Talkback Most Recent of 30 Talkback(s)
-
bjbrock5th Aug 2008 -
RE: Spammers using Google Sites to bypass filters
Spammers are increasingly getting more sophisticated in their attacks. Even spam mails are getting more and more dificult to decipher now adays. It seems the guys are stepping up their attacks verey time we think we have manage to corner them: Spammers Are Getting Way Too Personal(http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=544&doc_id=142139&F_src=flftwo)
jamalystic5th Aug 2008 -
RE: Spammers Uising Google Sites....
I know of only one permanent deterrent for spammers and malware authors:
EXECUTION
fatman655355th Aug 2008 -
seconded
I 2nd the motion.
riveroad5th Aug 2008 -
this is universal punishment
This punishment also works for thoughtless comments.
Oh my god! This guillotine looks really sharp. :=O
PlanBForOpenOffice6th Aug 2008 -
Or witless ones...
like yours.
The Truth8th Aug 2008 -
A less bloody alternative -
Ban graphical email clients. Everyone must move to a 100% text-based email client option (Mutt, Pine, et al) and there will be no support for any live links within a message - the user must copy and paste any URL manually into their browser. Any attachments must be manually saved with no opportunity to "automatically open" and only a secure archival/compression format may be used (to be developed...) which will double check for invalid filenames (MySuperPicCollection.jpg.exe) and content.
Next, ALL ISPs must block port 25 from non-business users and business users must install proxy and firewall software that includes outbound traffic control.
The only way to resolve this is to eliminate the opportunity for uneducated users to make the wrong choice.
Timpraetor6th Aug 2008 -
Abolish the Internet
Oh Yeah,
lets all go back and do smoke signals. That works too.
It's called throwing out the baby with the bathwater.PlanBForOpenOffice6th Aug 2008 -
double check for invalid filenames (MySuperPicCollection.jpg.exe)
How about the simple solution of not hiding extensions?
pdf616111th Sep 2008 -
Fumble fingers
Sorry about the long subject. I hit enter instead of delete. Anyway, the default of hiding extensions irritated me long before it became camouflage for trojans.pdf616111th Sep 2008 -
I love your thinking...
I'll be happy to donate to a fund to pay a bounty for the proven execution of any spammer/virus/malware writer.The Truth8th Aug 2008 -
Add ZdNet Trolls to that list
And it would be about right.
Duke E. Love13th Aug 2008 -
Here Here !!!!
But a quiet one, they just disappear one night and nobody knows or hears anything.
Do that a few times there would be a chill in the spammer community.
Send in the SAS, Rangers, Seals and GET 'EM
Tom in Toronto11th Sep 2008 -
There is another one - Denver Style
Throw the book at the Spammer, fine them 3/4M dollars and then let them excape prison to commit suicide taking out their corrupted family with them.
Ouch!
Uncle Buck12th Sep 2008 -
RE: Spammers using Google Sites to bypass filters
Spammers should be treated in such a way that the only way to retrieve any part of them is with a sponge!
Pretorien6th Aug 2008
Talkback - Tell Us What You Think
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
Facebook Activity
