Vioxx Replaces Porn as Spam King

An anonymous reader noted that CNN is running a story crowning vioxx the new king of spam, upsetting poor old fashioned pornography. Of course, for me all my spam seems to be about rolexes.

Comments

But they asked AOL!!!!

[thewldisntenuff]

There were plenty of other people to ask (SpamHaus, maybe the people behind SpamAssassin), but they ask an in-company division for their information on spam. Yes, spam is going down on AOL (as noted in a recent /. story), but couldnt they have asked others along with the numbers from AOL?

Rant aside, Im suprised it was Vioxx prescriptions - most of the ones I get are for improving my sex life....Vioxx was just named deadly by somebody, wasnt it?

-thewldisntenuff

Spam for Babyboomers

[Ossus_10]

Sounds like the spam companies are targeting the baby boomer generation with Arthritis pills. This also happens to be an age group that would be less sucessful at knowing how to stop spam. Ossus

more and more spam

[barik]

It seems that recently, spam has been getting better and better at avoiding my filters. All the sex-related e-mails get tossed right away, but the occasional viagra, rolex, cheap software, or vioxx messages still get through. The thing is: the messages are almost imcomprehensible. Often times they don't even have a link to order, or only have a link, or have an otherwise completely non-sensical message.

So how can people actually order this stuff? Half the time I can't tell what they're even selling. Someone has to be buying, or else spammers would at least make an effort to send e-mail that had, oh, I don't know, a way to actually order the product?

Re:Why, you ask?

[Tackhead]

> If you're wondering why people would still want Vioxx, it's only dangerous if you a pre-existing cardiac condition. So if you're a healthy 20-something with a bad knee, you're probably really pissed that Vioxx got taken off the market.

Who cares. All I want to see is spammers being sued into oblivion by the surviving relatives 80-year-olds with heart conditions click "buy" and subsequently kick off.

We've got enough law enforcement resources to go after 12-year olds who download Titney's Pears albums. Why the fuck can't we have someone go after these "pharmacies" who dispense prescription medications without a license?

The laws against illegal dispensation of prescription medicine aren't unenforceable like the War On Drugs Paid For By Handing Cash To That Dude On The Corner. These are non-anonymous transactions performed with credit cards and shipped by non-anonymous shippers, and often shipped across national borders over which law enforcement has a legal right to inspect packages for contraband.

spam of the future

[big-magic]

It's interesting that the article mentions that many spam messages are simple text messages with nothing but hyperlinks. This is exactly what Paul Graham predicted in his first essay on Bayesian filtering for spam. This definitely demonstrates that Bayesian techniques are having an effect on the behavior of spammers.

Re:spam of the future

[upsidedown_duck]

Also, they are being forced to use such bad spelling that I'm surpised that anyone can ever think they are legitimate. Like telemarketers, spammers can become extinct and no one would care.