Over the past few years you've all become familiar with the terms spam, spam filter, whitelists, blacklists and a whole myriad of other terminology associated with the problem of spam. You now have to add a new and extremely worrying phrase to that list - spam zombie.
With the net closing in around them spammers are looking for new and more inventive ways to send out their junk email. Spam filters and challenge response systems are becoming progressively more intelligent and blocking more spam each day. What was a spammer to do? The spammers took the next step - infiltrating your PC and using it as a spamming tool.
When most of you think of the word zombie you're reminded of old B movies with groaning zombies chasing the terrified actress through a castle, swamp or whatever low cost setting the movie revolved around. Spam zombies are, however, far more real and far more dangerous.
A spam zombie is when your computer is taken over by a type of virus called a Trojan. Once this Trojan virus is on your computer it sets up an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) application which allows it to begin sending email directly from your PC to tens of thousands of victims. This all happens invisibly in the background and can be difficult to detect for even the experienced computer user.
How do these Trojans get onto your computer? As in most cases they come from porn, warez or similar sites. One of the first spam zombie trojans to appear became available via a link on sites promising viewers free access to a porno webcam. One click later and the Trojan is installed on your computer ready to send out spam. Phatbot and Proxy-Guzu are two of the more common Trojans used for the purpose of turning your computer into a spam zombie.
How can you check if your computer has become a spam zombie? Make absolutely certain that both your anti-virus and firewall software have current detection signatures and have been completely patched and updated. Working online without taking these necessary security precautions is simply asking for trouble.
Internet Service Providers are under huge pressure to quarantine the IP address of any computer which has been turned into a spam zombie. This is done on the basis that the ISP risks their entire IP range being blacklisted or banned by some spam filtering services or companies.
The very least you owe yourself is to run a full virus and spyware scan on your computer today. You might be unpleasantly surprised at what you'll find lurking there.
This article provided courtesy of Spam-site.com which reviews spam blocker software and other anti spam utilties.
shuttle from O'Hare Brocton .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareSpam is everywhere. It's the "in-box lunch meat" nobody likes,... Read More
Spam is out of control! I guess that would be... Read More
One of our Australian clients sent out a campaign using... Read More
Spammers get email addresses from web pages using programs called... Read More
Junk mail works. Why does it work? How does it... Read More
5 Ways Spam Is Affecting Your Business And what we... Read More
They're sneaky. And stealthy. They're quiet and mostly unobtrusive, but... Read More
My friends in the web hosting business have recently informed... Read More
While we all agree that there`s way too much spamming/junk-mailing... Read More
Email is the quintessential business communication tool, so when it... Read More
There are hundreds of thousands of people who are trying... Read More
In today's spam-filled email world, it's sometimes VERY difficult to... Read More
A friend of mine received a chilling email message from... Read More
What comes to your mind when you think about your... Read More
Are you tired of spam stealing your time, your money,... Read More
1. Ignore Spam EmailDo not open an unsolicited email. Spammers... Read More
The Vandals are coming! And this time they're after your... Read More
You are familiar with the software applications that you run... Read More
If you're anything like me, you're pretty sick of it,... Read More
News last week that Internet service provider Verizon settled its... Read More
It absolutely amazes me how many people over-react to receiving... Read More
Are you getting too much spam? We all are, but... Read More
We all hate spam and get way too much of... Read More
About a month ago I had the privilege of giving... Read More
As the flood of spam increases end users are looking... Read More
Chicago charter limousine service Hickory Hills ..I'm sure I'm not the only person on the planet... Read More
Junk e-mail or spam has become the scourge of the... Read More
Each day we all face the same challenge. Spam. It... Read More
... and you'd better sit up and take notice! Customers... Read More
Spam filter is the solution that most people resort when... Read More
Spam is everywhere. It's the "in-box lunch meat" nobody likes,... Read More
While we all admit that unsolicited commercial email is a... Read More
A friend asked me: I don't get it. Why do... Read More
Although there still seem to be some differences among the... Read More
Do you like spam? No, I'm not kidding. Everybody knows... Read More
For years I didn't worry much about spam.But lately it's... Read More
Block Spam and Other Email Threats From Entering Your Gateway... Read More
Before we start getting deep into the meat of this... Read More
Microsoft scores one for the good guysScott Richter, the self-proclaimed... Read More
It's no secret that the US economy has slowed down,... Read More
You just sat at your desk, opened your email account... Read More
Spam can be a lot more damaging than you might... Read More
Death by spam is now possible with a new device... Read More
1. Ignore Spam EmailDo not open an unsolicited email. Spammers... Read More
Spam is out of control! I guess that would be... Read More
No. I'm not talking here about the outdoor activity enjoyed... Read More
It's a nightmare isn't it? You fire up your email... Read More
Email is the quintessential business communication tool, so when it... Read More
The lifeblood of the spammer is email. They need to... Read More
Effectively stopping spam over the long-term requires much more than... Read More
Spam Blocking |