I'm often amazed at the inability of spammers to spell. The latest wonder in my inbox was titled "RE: Sceert eobok on how to have a great sex instantly." It took me a moment to realize that this was spammerese for "Secret e-book." The spammers had created a flashy graphic depicting 6 pornstar-looking women who were either having a great sex instantly or yelling for someone to bring back their clothes. But despite the skill and effort put into the graphics, they couldn't be bothered to spell the title of their email properly.
The RE:, of course, is deceptive. I have never requested a Sceert eobok on this or any other topic.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
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6 comments:
Um, you're aware it's filter-evasion, right? People have set up filters that delete the words ebook or even secret (let alone viagra), and so spammers randomize words so you can still understand it (smart pattern matching mammal you are), but filters don't (dumb 'puters).
This is also why spam emails use to have just random text at the end. Filters through the randomness meant "interesting" and "not predictable", which would be not spam.
Thanks, Tony, I actually didn't know that. The spammer in question has a habit of using interesting first and last names like "Variegation T. Cauliflower" or "Resiliency V. Met." Can this be explained by filter evasion as well?
Dennis, I can forward you the email.
Anybody called Variegation T. Cauliflower cannot be all bad.
So that's probably a random dictionary-pull. Any name used too much will get twigged by filters eventually, but randomly generated randomness (switching the letters in a word being non-randomly generated randomness) would look too messy. Also, both of these are trying to get you to open the message I guess.
I'm not entirely sure what the current best filter methods are, or more importantly, what the current spammers believe they can do to avoid filtering... but it's interesting to watch as we try to make more clever pattern-searching software, and spammers try to break that by studying what computers can't do. All I can say is...
Shit I just got an urgent notification from my bank that I need to verify my account. I'll be right back.
Aaprenptly poplee can raed and recizonge wrods as lnog as the frist and lsat lteter are wehre tehy sohlud be. Edvinetly tihs is waht the sapmer’s emial pgorram is amepttting to use to its advagatne. Heeovwr, as I hvae atmetpted to sohw, I do not bveilee it aplpies to prefixes and psotfixes, as tsehe are like agoelmargted wrods. Tuhs the cisufoonn at ebook.
j00 r0x0r!
(a multilinguistic pun)
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