Virus Alert

This showed up in my email inbox today. I just had to share it this play on all those pesky viruses. Very funny!

There is a dangerous virus being passed around electronically, orally, and by hand. This virus is called Worm-Overload-Recreational-Killer (WORK). If you receive (WORK) from any of your colleagues, your boss, or anyone else via any means DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely. If you should come into contact with (WORK), put your jacket on and take two good friends to the nearest liquor store. Purchase the antidote known as:

Work-Isolating-Neutralizer-Extract (WINE)
or
Bothersome-Employer-Elimination-Rebooter (BEER).

Take the antidote repeatedly until (WORK) has been completely eliminated from your system. You should forward this warning to five friends. If you do not have five friends, you have already been infected and (WORK) is controlling your life.

Stolen goods sold on Ebay

I saw an article on the Today Show this morning about organized crime using eBay to fence stolen property. When I googled "ebay stolen property" I got pages of links to articles about people using eBay for this illegal purpose. Although I haven't really thought much about it before, it really didn't surprise me. eBay (like Craig's List and others) is built on trust, and overall it works. Less than 5% of merchandise sold on eBay is stolen.

It reminds me that unscrupulous people will always try to take advantage of a good thing and use it for their own purposes. After the tsunami disaster, someone used an email soliciting donations to disaster relief to send a computer worm. And after the gulf coast hurricanes, fake disaster relief sites popped up on the internet exploiting the kind generosity of strangers (see my article, Give Generously but Give Wisely).

I'm not a cynic, but I am cautious. Mostly, I'm angry and disappointed.

Image spam - example 2

I have a really good spam filter on my email, but this one still got through with the subject: "Re: a question" from Dr. William Clark.It included some random nonsense words in text at the bottom, but that was about it. Notice the instructions not to click on a link. That's because there's no link to click on. That's pretty much how it was able to get through the filters.

Just what I needed -- more crap!

Spam 2.0 - The rise in "image spam"

As if we didn't get enough junk in our email boxes already, now another form of spam jumps into the frying pan. If you haven't seen it already, you will. It's image spam where images are used in place of text.
As anti-spam tools that use content filters to weed out unsolicited e-mails proliferate, those people responsible for creating the messages continue to increasingly adopt image spam. By sending e-mails that contain no text, only pictures, scammers have found that they can evade many security systems, according to San Carlos, Calif.-based messaging management vendor Postini Inc. The messages often include image files that have a screen shot offering the same types of information advertised in more traditional text-based spam.

Depending on what stats you read, image-based spam accounts for 15% to 25% of all spam, compared with just 1% in late 2005.

Unsavory marketers are deploying image-based spam because it is harder to detect than text-based spam, and consumers are more likely to read an e-mail with a picture or graphic, says Craig Sprosts of anti-spam vendor IronPort Systems. Remember, most search engines or other software can't "read" or comprehend images the way the human brain can.

The newest spam uses technology that varies the content of individual messages — through colors, backgrounds, picture sizes or font types — so they appear to be distinct to spam filters. The spam is delivered to consumers and companies through millions of compromised PCs, called bots.

As software gets better at identifying and blocking spam, spammers get smarter at outfoxing software. "It is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game," says Dmitri Alperovitch of e-mail security company CipherTrust.

Why should you care?

Well, for one thing, image spam uses up more resources like bandwidth and storage space than traditional text-based spam. Your email box could fill up more quickly, bouncing messages you want to receive.

More importantly, this type of spam makes it more difficult for legitimate commercial emails using images to get through. It's already challenging to get quality emails through spam filters. As software is developed to filter out image spam, how well will it differentiate legitimate html emails with pictures from crap?

I mean really -- I put a lot of thought and time into my email blasts. They're not spam!

Save the Internet : Fighting for Internet Freedom

Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. If the public doesn't speak up now, our elected officials will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign.

You can help fight for Internet freedom. Contact your legislators. Donate to the coalition. Add a link to your blog or web site.

Visit this web site for more information and why you should care.

Save the Internet : Fighting for Internet Freedom

New US Giving Survey Released: Impact of Disaster-Relief Fundraising on Nonprofits

New US Giving Survey Released:
Impact of Disaster-Relief Fundraising on Nonprofits

~ 72% of respondents believe that fundraising for disaster-relief missions has reduced giving to other missions

~ Trust & donor fatigue are issues

~ Small to Medium size nonprofit organizations most impacted by funding shortfalls

Denver, CO - December 13, 2005 A new national survey released today by several firms working with nonprofit organizations confirms that donors need to dig deeper in 2005. Funding shortfalls at nonprofit organizations are another disaster in the making--loss of key services.

Read the press release and get access to the full report at http://www.wholebraintech.com/pr20051213.shtml.

Beware Bogus FBI E-Mails Spreading Computer Virus

TheDenverChannel.com - Technology - Beware Bogus FBI E-Mails Spreading Computer Virus WASHINGTON -- If you get an unexpected e-mail from the FBI that tells you to open an attachment and answer questions, don't do it. That advice comes from the real FBI.

Symantec Security Response - W32.Beagle.BA@mm

The Beagle Virus This virus uses its own SMTP engine to send email messages to any addresses found. The address in the "to" line may not be who the virus is actually coming from. So be cautious in blasting that person for sending you a virus. It may not be from them at all.

Computer Worm Exploits Tsunami to Spread Virus

FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - A mass e-mail posing as a plea for aid tohelp the victims of last month's Asian tsunami disaster is actually avehicle for spreading a computer virus, Web security firm Sophos saidMonday. www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UB1BCOU41LFHCCRBAEKSFEY?