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Nonsense Email

Why am I getting all this gibberish-filled email?

QUESTION:
Recently I've been getting a lot of weird email messages. They aren't exactly spam - at least they aren't trying to sell anything that I can see and they don't contain any links for me to click. They're just full of gibberish, what appears to be random words and phrases. Who in the world is sending these things and why? -- Genie L.

ANSWER:
You're right: they aren't spam, but they are sent by spammers. The point isn't to get you to buy anything, but to get you to mark the unwanted messages as spam in order to confuse your Bayesian spam filters. Most anti-spam programs now use some form of Bayesian filtering - this is a way of using statistical methods to classify messages as spam (or not). The software "learns" to recognize what you consider to be spam based on the messages that you mark as spam. It's a great idea and works well - except when the filters are "poisoned" by lots of messages that contain large amounts of random words and phrases that's likely to appear in legitimate messages.

Bayesian poisoning messages sometimes consist of random words and sometimes a block of text from a literary work or the like. In either case, the goal is to confuse the filters and render them useless.

It's also possible that even though they don't contain links, some of the gibberish messages may contain web beacons. These are tiny, transparent (and thus invisible) graphics files placed in HTML email messages. When you open the message, your email client downloads the graphic from the sender's server. This lets the spammer know that the email address is a "live" one.

Preventative Solutions:

A good SPAM filters will remove these messages.

The staff at WinHaven Consulting also has experience with many products not listed below. This lack of listing may be due to the more complicated nature of the products or because WinHaven LLC does not recommend the product. (There are many malicious programs that pass themselves off as security solutions, so beware!)

For more information on any product listed or otherwise, you may contact WinHaven directly.
Zone Alarm Firewall

CA Anti-Spam

CA Anti-Spam Plus CA Website Inspector helps provide effective, easy-to-use protection against unwanted spam and fraudulent phishing attacks. It helps ensure you get messages from people you know, while redirecting messages from people you don’t, and works seamlessly with your email, web, instant messaging and office applications to help identify dangerous websites.

Key Features:

  • Supports up to 3 PCs
  • Helps block unwanted spam
  • Helps prevent phishing attacks and email fraud
  • Helps protect multiple email accounts
  • Helps identify dangerous websites
  • Integrates seamlessly with email, web, IM and office applications


Anti-Spam:

Supports DKIM and SPF with Email Inspector to work with industry standard protocols to scan email, and thwart phishing attemps

Designed to Block Unwanted Spam by allowing only messages from your approved senders list to reach your Inbox - other mail is quarantined for you to review later

Helps Prevent Phishing Attacks and Email Fraud by verifying the authenticity of messages, and displaying a clear visual warning on suspicious emails

Works Simply and Easily with no complicated content filters to set up or manage

Protects Multiple Email Accounts for your Microsoft Exchange accounts and any POP3 mail accounts you have configured in Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express or Microsoft Windows Mail

Integrates Seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange with easy access to application features directly from the toolbar in Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express or Microsoft Windows Mail

Email Search creates a search index of information stored in your email program, so you can quickly and easily find messages, attachments, contacts, appointments, journal entries and notes. For English-language Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express or Microsoft Windows Mail only

Spam Score helps determine which messages are most likely to be spam, so you spend less time reviewing quarantined mail and are less likely to miss a good message

Supports Sender Score Certified to allow mail from valid senders of commercial email (for example, order confirmations from Amazon.com) to be delivered to your Inbox

International Language Support automatically displays German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese or Japanese based on your Windows language settings, and properly filters spam sent for that language

Imports or Exports Approved Senders to allow you to migrate your Approved Senders list easily from one PC to another

 
iHateSpam Anti-spam
 

iHateSpam

Eliminate Spam. Improve Your Outlook.
  • Eliminates irritating junk email and phishing attempts.
  • Effective with Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.
  • No lost messages - spam is quarantined until you delete.
  • Puts you in control of the email you receive.
Take control of your inbox.
Annoying and often explicit email messages are an offensive invasion of your privacy. Spam has made a comeback and now accounts for nearly 90% of all email. Your inbox belongs to you. Take control of it with iHateSpam and stop wasting time sorting and deleting junk email messages. With iHateSpam, spam email is sent to quarantine, where you can choose to delete it without having to see it.

Incredibly easy to use
Unlike other products that require you to manually enter technical or password info from your email system during setup and then make you run a separate program to intercept spam, iHateSpam runs inside of your email program. There are no extra steps required - it's that easy!

Automatically filter all incoming email
Once you install iHateSpam, your incoming email is automatically analyzed against iHateSpam's spam indicators to determine if a message is spam. Suspicious emails are then quarantined for your review.

You know who your friends are
No one likes spam — but you want to make sure you do get email that's really intended for you! That's why iHateSpam does two important things: First, if an email is from a sender on your Friend's List (pulled from your address book), the email will always get through to you. Second, all email marked as spam is placed in a separate folder so you can always retrieve it later.

Create lists of friends
At your request, iHateSpam allows you to build a "Friends List" by automatically analyzing your address book. And in the Outlook version, iHateSpam will even analyze any email folder you choose, such as your sent items folder, or folders of past emails. Once a Friends List is created, any message from someone on the list will get through to you. Of course, you can add more friends at any time.

Create specialized enemies lists
What if you get an email from a sender that you don't want to get again? That's where the Enemies List is so handy. Simply designate a sender as an "Enemy", and mail from that sender will automatically get quarantined without checking any additional rules.

One year of free anti-spam updates!
Spam changes. That's why iHateSpam automatically checks for updates to its spam filters when you start your email program -- and if there are any available, downloads them automatically. It couldn't be easier! Your purchase includes one year of free anti-spam updates; annual subscriptions are available for subsequent updates.

 

 

    

 

  

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Last Modified: 12/01/2008