Examining an Automated Spam Tool

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Examining an Automated Spam Tool

Posted by michael on Tuesday December 9, 2003 @08:32AM from the processed-meat dept.

Saint Aardvark writes "SecurityFocus has published an excellent column detailing how spammers r00ted an Apache server, and used it to send spam. The tool they used is (I hate to admit it) pretty sophisticated: it has macro capabilities, picks up email addresses from and reports success or failure to the master server. It's a very frightening read...and so is this: Message Labs reports that they now intercept 27 spam emails per second, up from 2 per second this time last year. Virus-created proxies are mainly to blame."

15 of 415 comments (clear)

All this really makes me wonder... by BJZQ8 · 2003-12-09 08:33 · Score: 5, Funny

All this really makes me wonder when the death penalty will be approved for spammers. Or at least some harsh beatings...
1. Re:All this really makes me wonder... by Clever+Pun · 2003-12-09 08:39 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I'll see your penile enhancements, and raise you two mortgages and a college degree from a school of YOUR choosing.
2. Re:All this really makes me wonder... by taperkat · 2003-12-09 08:42 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  but... my family in Nigeria needs your help... *sob*
  
  --
  "But I can't get an ocean that's deep enough for my day..." ~The Frames, "Fitzcarraldo"
3. Re:All this really makes me wonder... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-09 10:07 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  after all, I am a female.
  Ah, true karma whoring at its finest
They "r00ted" a native american waiter? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-09 08:40 · Score: 5, Funny

This is obscene. How far will spammers go?
1. Re:They "r00ted" a native american waiter? by zulux · 2003-12-09 09:20 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  They "r00ted" a native american waiter?
  
  We'll the crackers were nice - they allowed the guy to keep 2% of his bandwidth in reserve.
  
  --
  Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
No Death Penalty, Please!!! by tds67 · 2003-12-09 08:45 · Score: 5, Funny

All this really makes me wonder when the death penalty will be approved for spammers. Or at least some harsh beatings...
No, not yet! I'm only halfway through my penis-enlarging regimen!
Nivenate 'em by Verteiron · 2003-12-09 08:47 · Score: 2, Funny

Yeah, send 'em into the organ banks. Mind you, if my arm falls off, I'm not sure I'd like to know my new one might have come from a spammer...

--
End of lesson. You may press the button.
Re:yep by John+Seminal · 2003-12-09 08:51 · Score: 3, Funny

What made you think spammers were ever mom&pop. It is their son in the basement. Can't get a job at K-Mart, so he sends out spam. A penny here, a penny there, and soon he can afford a subscription to milfhunter.com.
All jokes aside, this sucks that people will steal bandwith and commendeer other peoples computers. If we do not correct this problem, Microsoft might decide their "trusted computing" is the anwser because it would identify everyone and market it as "more secure". Have you seen the butterfly that keeps porn away from your kids? Or ISP's could blacklist anyone who is not on their "approved list". I guess freedom of speech is wothless if 100's of spammers are yelling all at the same time. Is there any way we call all yell "SHUT UP" back at them?

--
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
And the worst news is. . . by mntgomery · 2003-12-09 08:53 · Score: 2, Funny

that this intrusion is probably the work of some teenage kid who will never have to do a day of real work in his life. But at least stuff like this keeps us admins employed. . . at least some of the time.

--

This comment was generated by a squadron of trained super elite albino ninja chickens for you.
Spammers Hiring Goatse Trolls? by goldspider · 2003-12-09 09:00 · Score: 3, Funny

"Other trends started this year and expected to increase in 2004 include the use of e-mail to trick people into going to what they think is a legitimate vendor's web site..."

That sounds suspiciously familiar, especially when you substitute "e-mail" with "innocent-looking links to Amazon.com".

--
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
Re:enlargements by ebonkyre · 2003-12-09 09:00 · Score: 5, Funny

Well, there's no accounting for spammers' tastes. Judging from some of the spams I've seen, females with enlarged cocks are apparently pretty popular with these folks...

--
"Time is an abstract concept devised by carbon-based lifeforms to monitor their ongoing decay." - Thundercleese
Finally! by fsmunoz · 2003-12-09 09:03 · Score: 3, Funny

First spam, then the Empire! Finally Portugal is regaining it's place! Seaway to India, you say? Do I ear Brazil? Was that "Eastern Empire" sir? Bollocks! It all fades away compared to the might of SBTF.NET!

On a more serious note, the telephone contact given in the RIPE lookup is a bogus one (lacks one number to be a valid portuguese phone number), the "Rua do Norte" street doesn't exist in Lisbon and SBTF isn't listed in any portuguese site that deals with companies registration.

Some say "bad publicity is good publicity"... I would rather not have my country mentioned by these particular reasons.

But... the guy reporting it is from Spain... this could be some devious plot to, er, something. ;)

cheers
Hah! by CrystalFalcon · 2003-12-09 09:16 · Score: 1, Funny

I knew it all the time, Apache and Unix servers are among the most vulnerable on the planet. This could never happen to trusty old Windows boxen.

...oh, wait...
Re:OK. who's behind this? by bmsleight · 2003-12-09 10:41 · Score: 2, Funny

Why not phone him to ask him if he is responsible for the spam. Also stealing someones paid bandwidth.
Please do not all call Mr Charles Fish at once we do not want him being /.ed. One at a time please ....
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