Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of law, culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.

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Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 07:07:51 -0500 (EST)
From: security curmudgeon <jericho@attrition.org>
To: security curmudgeon <jericho@attrition.org>
Subject: Anti-Virus Companies, Tenacious Spammers
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.58.0401280703170.20015@forced.attrition.org>

http://www.attrition.org/security/rant/av-spammers.html

Anti-Virus Companies: Tenacious Spammers
Wed Jan 28 04:46:28 EST 2004
Brian Martin [jericho@attrition.org]

No one can argue that the spam problem is getting better. Despite advances
in anti-spam technology and legislation against spam, unwanted junk mail
is flowing into our inboxes at an increased rate. Stock tips, enhancement
drugs, Nigerian scams, DVD copy software and hundreds of other products or
services get shoved in our face.

For roughly three years, the Internet has seen worms that spread via
e-mail, often taking addresses out of the infected machine's web cache,
user addressbook or other sources. Some of these worms will also
forge/spoof the "From:" line so the mail appears to be from someone else,
in an attempt to make the mail more 'trusted'. To be clear..

[..]

Spam is basically defined as "unsolicited junk e-mail". Unsolicited, as in
you did not request the person/company to send you mail. Junk, as in it
contains no valuable content or information. When an anti-virus program
from a remote system mails you out of the blue, tells you that it blocked
a virus YOU sent, tells you that you are likely infected with a virus and
advertises itself, the remote site is sending you spam. In the case of the
latest worm, myself and others have received more spam from Anti-Virus
products than the worm itself! As you read this, Anti-Virus companies are
responsible for products that are sending out more unwanted mail than the
worm itself. The most damning mail from these products not only purport to
"warn you of infection", but they go so far as to advertise the product to
you. This is unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE, aka "spam") in its purest
form.

[..]

Posted by Declan McCullagh on Jan 28, 2004

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