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Microsoft's New Spamming Technique

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the turning-your-users-into-spammers dept.

judges1617 writes: "Microsoft is now testing a beta version of their MSN Explorer that sends e-mails to everyone in your Outlook Address, informing them that your e-mail address has changed and invites them to to try MSN. Even the people who use MSN are complaining, but M$ refuses to acknowledge it is doing anything wrong. Read the whole story here" The best part of this article is the MS reps argument about why this isn't spam "The e-mail you received was an invitation from MSN Explorer, sent on behalf of an existing user who changed their e-mail address and wants you to try MSN Explorer." I guess we can add "Spamming" as another "Business" where Microsoft can use its monopoly status to its advantage.

11 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. A bit biased by boing+boing · · Score: 5

    Jeez...this article is more about clueless newbies sending spam...the product specifically asks if you want to email ALL of your email contacts. Maybe a lot of people just didn't bother to read the message. The implementation is clearly bad, but that doesn't make the idea (allowing people who have just changed their address to send a mail to everyone they email regularly) bad.

    1. Re:A bit biased by markt4 · · Score: 5

      Uh, excuse me, but it seems to me that there is a significant difference between "notify the people in your address book of a change of e-mail address" and "notify the people in your address book of a change of e-mail address and include in that message a totally unsoliciated advertisement implying your endorsement of our service and we are not going to let you read this message before we send it out".

  2. I don't notice anything different... by lwagner · · Score: 5

    I don't know what you guys are talking about...Mine seems to work fine...


    ---

    "I recently began using a new product from Microsoft called MSN Explorer. With MSN Explorer, you can send and receive e-mail, exchange instant messages with me and the millions of other people who use MSN Explorer, browse the Web and much more. MSN Explorer even offers an exciting new look for using the Web and makes it easy to find and play music online. Want to try it out? It's FREE! Just click on the link below and follow the download instructions."



    --
    Spindletop Blackbird, the GNU/Linux Cube.
  3. Um... by Fervent · · Score: 5
    To Microsoft's credit, you have to press a couple of buttons to "accidentally" send this spam (read: you are an idiot). The program even tells you the subject line of the spam right before you ok to send it ("Come try Explorer Preview" or something like that).

    IMO, if you go through a few clicks and see something as blatant as that, you shouldn't click "OK" and complain about it afterward.

    --

    - I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.

  4. Where to dou want to go today? by jbarnett · · Score: 5


    This is an automatic message from the new Windows Messaging software information you that _Bob Sagertion_ has change his desktop wall paper quickly and easily with only 2 clicks of the mouse. That sure is easy, please try using Microsoft Windows 98 with imbedded Windows Messaging Software to allow YOU to take advantage of this great new fearture.

    This email would also like to information you that _Bob Sagertion_ has not only moved his mouse, but has also used 2 clicks in the last _12_ seconds. How do you know so much information about _Bob Sagertion_ ? With the new Microsoft Mouse Monitor Util imbeded with Microsoft's own Windows Messaging. If you would like these great feartures YOU TO can get Windows Messaging for the low price of $19.95.

    The next time _Bob Sagertion_ has made any changes or has interacted with a peice of Microsoft's Windows Messaging software, you will receive notice of this. If you would like YOUR freind to take notice of any IMPORTANT things you do with your computer, like change email address, store your persoal private journal or even make a mouse click, then please check out Microsoft's Windows Message software for the low price of $19.95

    --

    Also on a side note, Microsoft is suing Norton Anti-virus software for detecting and delete any messages Windows Messager is sending out. Due to the lack of AI in Norton's software, it can't tell the differant between this GREAT NEW SOFTWARE and the hoard of outlook worms/virii out there.

    On a related topic, Mr. Norton knew caps has been shattered by an unknown person(s).

    Have a nice day,
    Windows Messaging software and Paper clip harry


    --

    "`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -THHGTTG
  5. This is part of their new strategy... by Wellspring · · Score: 4

    You think this is bad, you should see what else they have on the way:

    Internet Explorer: Automatically posts to slashdot announcing that you are now using Internet Explorer and that we will all be assimilated.

    MS Word: Prints a letter and envelope, complete with Estamps, to everyone in your address book, then uses Orbital Mind Control Lasers to make you sign, seal and send them. MS charges the estamps to your credit card.

    MS Money: An 'affiliate' program. They send spam announcing that you use MS Money, then offer five bucks to people who switch, also. The money comes from your bank account. (After all, they didn't get this rich writing big checks. Buy 'em out, boys!)

  6. Re:Email address books are for wimps by Tackhead · · Score: 4
    if you can't memorize the email addresses of the hundred or so people and mailing lists with whom you regularly correspond, you shouldn't be using a computer.

    Actually, while I think you meant it in jest, I think it's true.

    My name isn't unique. There are a million John Does in the world. At work, I'm john_doe@johndoescompany.com, and at home, I'm jd@johndoesisp.net. Those are two unique identities.

    Nothing bugs me more than carrying on a conversation with foo@bar.com, and having him "reply" to the wrong address because "John Doe"'s work address is above his home address in foo@bar.com's "address book". Not only do I not necessarily want personal correspondance at work, but now I have to forward that mail *back to my home address* if I want to keep a record of it in one place.

    Email addresses uniquely identify users. Names don't. We expect total drooling fuckwits to be capable of associating phone numbers (7 to 10 arbitrary digits) with individuals, so it's actually pretty goddamn reasonable to expect them to be able to associate an email address (a pronounceable string of characters often bearing a striking resemblance to the person's name) with an individual too.

    And as for those who are saying that "mailing everyone in your address book when you change addresses isn't spam", read the article.

    If it mailed everyone in your address book with "Hi. This is John Doe. I'm now on MSN and my address is john_doe@m_s_n_dot_com", it would be a misfeature, but forgivable.

    It doesn't.

    It says "I recently began using a new product from Microsoft called MSN Explorer. With MSN Explorer, you can send and receive e-mail, exchange instant messages with me and the millions of other people who use MSN Explorer, browse the Web and much more. MSN Explorer even offers an exciting new look for using the web and makes it easy to find and play music online. Want to try it out? It's FREE! Just click on the link below and follow the download instructions", and presumably follows it with a link to a Trojan. (Yeah, I consider MSN a trojan. Deal with it.) 100,000 quatloos says the spam's in fuckin' HTML, too.

    If it walks like spam, smells like spam, and is made from potted meat product like spam, it bloody well is spam.

    I've just added the strings in the above-quoted spam to my procmail filter. The response will be "550 MSN auto-generated spam rejected. Use a real ISP that doesn't turn you into a spammer."

    As for Bill Gates and the marketer who came up with this shit, anyone whose sole view of the world is their own lower digestive tract should not be permitted to come within 20 feet of a computer, much less one attached to the 'net.

  7. M$ is not the spammer -- YOU ARE!!! by Stavr0 · · Score: 5
    No. This is much worse. By sending potentially hundreds of unsolicited commercial emails, you are violating your ISPs Terms of Service. When 5 or 10 of these posts trigger a spamcop report or other similar complaint, YAIT!

    • You get TOSsed from your ISP and you'll have to spend hours on the phone to convince said ISP that "honest! it wasn't my fault!"

    • You lose some friends who now think your a MS sellout, spammer or worse
      Your email address will end up ORBS, RBL and several other blacklists, which means your (brand new!) email address is now useless
      Several of you friends will succumb to the suggestion, try MSN explorer and fsck themselves up too; hating you twice as much.

    I nominate this one for the stupid crocky losing misfeature award of the year.
    ---

  8. Re:Email address books are for wimps by Tackhead · · Score: 4
    > I cannot believe that these idiots are trying to claim that it isn't spam. It's auto-generated; it's ad-copy; and it's offensive to one's intelligence.

    "This is not spam!" is the first cry of the spammer.

    0) Spam is theft.
    1) Spammers lie.
    2) If you think a spammer's telling the truth, see Rule #1.
    3) Spammers are st00pid.

    (Footnote: Actually, "OooOOOOOHhonnnngggh! is the cry of the spammer. After I pound its balls flat with a mallet. The bit about "It wasn't spam, it was invitation to buy my product" only comes after they've regained the ability to speak. This is poor practice: when you whack a spammer, do it like you mean it. If properly whacked, the bits of goo around the server room will never recongeal into anything that has the ability to speak.)

  9. For those interested in taking a look... by painecave · · Score: 4
    For those who want to take a look at the VB code, after installation of the software, go to the hidden folder:

    C:\Program Files\MSN\MSNCoreFiles

    (And do your self a favor and make get rid of it's hidden option)

    There you will find a few .mar files. Don't be fooled, they are not short cuts to access databases as your windows may believe. Open em up in wordpad and take a looke. There is some junk in images and such, but there is also alot of VB. I wonder if the send program is in there?

  10. The New ICQ 2000b (AOL) uses same type of tactic by detritus. · · Score: 4

    It appears that the new ICQ 2000b uses a tactic similar to Microsoft's, where users on your contact list are by default are sent an e-mail from you to log back on to ICQ after 30 days of not being online. While this isn't nearly as intrusive as MSN's browser's feature, it still is sending messages by default without the user's knowledge (unless they look at their preferences).

    Yet more useless and annoying "features" added to ICQ's new releases after AOL's purchase of Mirabilis...

    - Slash