More spammer tricks

Regardless of what you think about spammers, their stealth techniques seem at times to be a testament to ingenuity. One new technique involves targeting unsecured wireless hotspots to unload torrents of e-mail, then disappearing, according to spam filter vendors.

"I call it spam driving," says Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of Sunbelt Software, which develops a spam-blocking gateway called IHateSpam.

He compares this spamming method to the practice called war driving, in which people drive around cities with a laptop and wireless card, plotting and exploiting open wireless access points. "It's the old zombie idea recycled," he says, referring to a hacker's practice of compromising Web sites without the operator's permission and using them to launch attacks.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Regardless of what you think about spammers, their stealth techniques seem at times to be a testament to ingenuity. One new technique involves targeting unsecured wireless hotspots to unload torrents of e-mail, then disappearing, according to spam filter vendors.

"I call it spam driving," says Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of Sunbelt Software, which develops a spam-blocking gateway called IHateSpam.

He compares this spamming method to the practice called war driving, in which people drive around cities with a laptop and wireless card, plotting and exploiting open wireless access points. "It's the old zombie idea recycled," he says, referring to a hacker's practice of compromising Web sites without the operator's permission and using them to launch attacks.

Lesley Tolman, director of networks and telecommunications for Tufts University in Medford, Mass., says the school is in the process of pinpointing wireless access hotspots around campus.

"We have a small number, but we are trying to manage their proliferation," she says.

Another spamming technique that has popped up, according to Linus Upson, co-founder of start-up Q-Spam, is use of a mobile spam command center. One spammer he knows of has a van loaded with computer equipment that he uses to drive to small and midsize ISPs, where he offers cash bribes for an hour or so on their networks. The ISP literally runs a cable out the back door and into the van.

"He spends about $40,000 a month putting together a spam campaign and makes $100,000 in revenue," Upson says. "He only spends a few hours over two to three days sending out his spam. The rest of his time is spent setting everything up."

It's that kind of ease of execution that keeps spammers working and the spam problem growing. The volume of spam has more than doubled this year from last, according to spam filter company Postini.

"The cost of being a spammer is so little, and you have so little to lose," says Dan Keldsen, a senior analyst for Delphi Group.

Read more about software in Network World's Software section.