Archives: Hacks
File Attachments Spammers Use to Infiltrate Your Inbox
Because more and more people have already become aware of spam mails sent as plain text such as the 419 spam mail, spammers now use different tactics to pass through spam email blockers and antivirus anti spam softwares. Some of these spam messages are so cleverly structured free anti spam programs may not be able to block them.
So how do spammers manage to get through free email spam blockers and free spam blocker softwares? They send spam through email attachments. The following are four types of attachment spam you may receive in your inbox. Read through and you might just realize the last attachment you opened today actually came from a spammer:
1. Photo and Image files. Image spam is effective in circumventing free spam filter because image spams may be considered merely as images by email client softwares. This perhaps explains why you may still receive emails with images that sell watch replicas and online pharmacy products regardless of your spam email blockers. How to get rid of this type of spam? Do not read email messages with images that come from people you do not know.
2. PDF files. Another type of spam that many email anti spam programs may not be able to filter is Pdf spam. Make sure that you check out who your mail sender is when you receive PDF files especially if you are the type who always receive PDF files in your mailbox. PDF spam is a spam threat that is considered as a development out of image spams.
3. Excel Files. Business people who often use excel program are most at risk of opening spam emails with excel files. With the advent of spammers using excel files as attachment, security experts also say that spammers may also inevitably use powerpoint and word documents as spam attachments. Understanding and combating spam messages that use excel files and other attachments can be read at the GFI software white paper on “Attachment spam-the latest trend”.
4. Zip files. Zip files are usually used when downloading and sharing files in the internet. People also use zip files to make it easier and faster to send bulky data over email. Unfortunately, spammers are also using zip files to make it similarly easier and faster to spam mailboxes. According to SC magazine, spam mails that contain zip files usually use the following or a variety of these words: Invoice and document; alert, invitation and notice. Watch out for these words especially when opening emails with zip files that come from unknown sources.
Posted in Hacks, Internet, Internet security | No Comments »
4 Ways to Protect Your Email from Spammers
There are so called email harvesters that glean the internet for email addresses. Once, your email is “harvested”, then expect spammers to spam your mailbox with anything from free download indian and pakistani scandal clips to phishing email messages. While it helps that the two popular webmails gmail and yahoo have built in spam blockers, it is inevitable that phishing and hoax mails can get through your inbox.
So how do your protect your email address from spammers and email harvesters?
1. Avoid exposing your email address. The best way to protect your email address from spammers is to avoid displaying your email address especially in your blogs or websites but in case you feel obliged, the following may help:
2. Display your email as an image. Instead of displaying your email as text, use an image instead. Humans can read this, robot email harvesters won’t.
3. Use an alternative format when displaying your email as text. E.g mail(@)yourmail.com.
4. Use a captcha program. Captcha (Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart) can now be used to protect your email. The reCAPTCHA Mailhide for example, requires people to solve a reCAPTCHA before they will be able to view your email address.
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What to do when your IM shows and sends http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com link
I am already being branded as a virus carrier by one of my yahoo messenger buddies because of the viruses in my yahoo messenger account.The worst virus that I had was the funny ust scandal virus which seemed to have been “downloaded” by people who used our PC the night before I found my yahoo messenger infected with the virus.
When I was in Zamboanga and was using a public computer to chat with my hubby, my YM buddies sent me messages that my yahoo messenger account was again carrying a virus. Without me knowing it, I was sending the following messages to my IM buddies. (I found them when I opened my other YM account):
Tra lai em niem vui khi duoc gan ben em, tra lai em loi yeu thuong em dem, tra lai em niem tin thang nam qua ta dap xay. Gio day chi la nhung ky niem buon… http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com
E may, vao day coi co con nho nay ngon lam http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com
Vao day nghe bai nay di ban http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com
My messenger status is also automatically changed into this: “Trang Web nay coi cung hay, vao coi thu di http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com ”
What is this?
I googled for information about this and realized that the http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com messages are actually what you call a spim (will make a separate post about this later). A spim is a spam that penetrates IM accounts instead of email accounts and generally contains some links. http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com, I have learned, is actually a web hosting site that is being marketed through spimming.
How to Avoid receiving the http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com messages
I was looking for information on how to remove http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com text and links but the best advice I got so far is on how to avoid receiving this http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com spim. The trick is to edit the messenger preferences and set your settings to ‘Ignore anyone who is not on your Messenger list’. This way, people, including spimmers will not be able to send you messages if they are not included in your buddy list.
I also suggest to people not to purchase their web hosting from http://nhattruongquang.0catch.com. The site deserves a boycott after messing with our instant messaging accounts.
Posted in Hacks | 3 Comments »
How to Remove the Blogger Navbar
This is the blogger navbar:
and there are several reasons why some bloggers (including me) would prefer to remove the navbar and prevent it from showing in blogger blogs. So here is the trick on how to remove the blogger navigation bar:
- Go to Edit Html (under templates)
- and insert this anywhere in the template:
#navbar #Navbar1 iframe{
display:none;
visibility:none;
}
Thanks to apnerve.blogspot for the hack.
Posted in Hacks | 1 Comment »
