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Apple patent points at auto disposable email address tech to combat spammers
- Based on a patent filing, Apple appears to be interested in developing a new email system that will help to better filter spam mail, among other things.
Bitcoin-mining trojan spreading through Skype spam, Kaspersky warns
- Skype users beware: Kaspersky has discovered a new trojan that's spreading through Microsoft's chat service. Revealed late last week, the malware campaign is believed to have only began on March 1 but has grown rapidly and the infection is essentially…
FTC doles out $50,000 to winners of Robocall Challenge
- The Federal Trade Commission recently wrapped up a contest designed to find an effective solution to combat robocalls – spammy automated phone calls that deliver a pre-recorded message to unlucky recipients. The annoying messages account for roughly 200,000 complaints each…
FTC nails 29 spammers who sent over 180m texts promising freebies
- The US Federal Trade Commission has charged 29 individuals who allegedly sent millions of spam text messages to phone users promising "free" prizes. The defendants are reportedly responsible for sending more than 180 million unwanted messages to random phone numbers,…
Vulgar post lands on prominent blogs, Tumblr patches vulnerability
- Tumblr says it has addressed a vulnerability which allowed hackers to force visitors into unwittingly reposting an offensive, expletive-ridden message condemning the "tasteless" and "bourgeoisie" blog site. More than 8,600 users were affected -- Cnet, USA Today and The Verge were…
Two text message spammers fined $700,000 in the UK
- It seems that no matter what medium people use for communication, spammers always find a way to make it a little less attractive. Junk mail, telemarketers, email spam and now even SMS spam have all likely been experienced by most…
Unknown number of Twitter accounts hijacked, passwords reset
- Twitter has warned an unknown number of users that hackers have potentially compromised their accounts. Spam-like tweets seem to be originating from at least some affected users, including TechCrunch's own Twitter account. "Make $250 A Day From Home", one tweet…
YouTube to cut spam by asking you to comment with your real name
- YouTube has begun “encouraging” users with pop-up boxes asking those commenting on video uploads to do so using their real name, rather than their online handles. In addition to this, Google is offering the option to link accounts with Google+,…
World's third largest spam botnet 'Grum' taken down
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Security researchers announced they’ve dismantled the world's third-largest botnet, known as Grum, which is believed to have been responsible for 18% of the world's spam. The shutdown was a joint effort between California security firm FireEye, the British-based Spamhaus Project…
Microsoft engineer exposes international Android spam botnet
- Update (7/6): Researchers at Sophos are backtracking their previous claims, saying they're not so sure anymore about the source of the spam and if Android devices are indeed involved.
Nigerian email scam is used to find only the most gullible targets
- I’ve owned the same email address for over 10 years so it goes without saying that I’ve seen my fair share of spam messages. Even with various email rules and spam blockers in place, I typically wake up to nearly…
Google tweaks algorithm to thwart keyword stuffing and link schemes
- In an effort to penalize evil webspammers and reward those who utilize their SEO powers for good, Google announced that it will be adding new anti-webspam measures to its search algorithm. The changes are expected to roll out over the…
Sophos: 20% of Macs harbor Windows malware
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Although folks are currently fixated on the Flashback botnet, Sophos draws attention to the fact that one in five Macs harbors some kind of Windows-oriented malware. The company gathered results over seven days from 100,000 Apple machines using its free antivirus program...
Twitter escalates anti-spam efforts, files lawsuit against spammers
- Twitter has taken a stand against those spamming their popular micro-blogging service by filing a lawsuit in a federal court in San Francisco against five of the most prolific spam tool providers, and the people that use them to flood…
Video Captchas are (kinda) easier to defeat than other types
- The Stanford team that developed "deCaptcha" to bypass audio and text versions of NuCaptcha's anti-bot scheme has cracked the video prompts too. In detailed article, security expert Elie Bursztein explains how he and his colleagues defeat video Captchas with a…
Google, Microsoft and others join forces to fight phishing
- Industry heavyweights including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, and several others are joining forces to combat phishing and make email more trustworthy. Forming an initiative called DMARC -- short for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance -- their aim is to…
McAfee turns customers' PCs into spam servers, patch incoming
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McAfee is promising to patch a vulnerability in its SaaS Total Protection anti-malware service, pitched as a "peace of mind" solution offering "complete email and web protection", after...
Symantec: spam nearing three-year low, targeted attacks on the rise
- E-mail spam across the world is close to a three-year low, now accounting for 70.5 percent of all messages sent. That may sound like a lot until you consider that 90 percent of e-mail sent in 2009 was spam, according…
Spam king Sanford Wallace indicted for Facebook spam
- One of the most prominent Internet spammers turned himself in after an indictment filed in San Jose federal court last week. Self-proclaimed ‘Spam King’ Sanford Wallace is accused of sending more than 27 million spam messages to Facebook users over…
Weekend Open Forum: Is spam still a big problem for you?
- Have you noticed any less spam in your inbox lately? You should, according to Symantec Intelligence, which claims the volume of junk mail sent worldwide has dropped around 80% over the past year. A large part of this came from…
Spam drops by 20% after Russia takes down one man
- There are now about 20 percent fewer spam e-mails hitting your inbox, thanks to efforts from the Russian government. Russian authorities this week cracked down on suspected spam kingpin Igor A. Gusev, according to The New York Times.
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