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Weird spam text, what does it mean?
Posted: 2004-03-07 05:15pm
by Drewcifer
OK, so I get very little spam at my home email account, maybe 10 or so in the last year. I'm always curious how a new spammer gets my address, so when I receive a new one, I disconnect from the net and open 'em up. The latest was another refinance spam (from a company in Australia? weird.) and was a typical spam to save me money by refinancing my mortgage. Except for the following long string of text that was included -- in yellow text on a white background -- at the end of the email. I don't understand why someone would include the text in a spam.
Anyone have any ideas?
stifle altimeter canst impetus portend afloat stance effeminate nymph carboxy furthermost mann attendant culpable efflorescent similar booze common aloof bank cursory robotics concatenate apperception chipboard straw write playground admission boycott elect senora congestion graph despotic du rosen snare dragonhead curd dimethyl throat deflate mate dapple dianne nibble capital decrease tremble thimbu cluck iambic ellipsometer whiz theism ca agone athenian viscometer cocky revving asiatic bethlehem dalton hornet blurb bloodline electrician madame weatherstrip sulfa snyaptic great cadet but igloo carla droop florist alterate lamprey kelp agatha rpm batten countryside equilateral thomas mirror jacques benevolent careworn degas cashew grassland depot politico humpty playa plethora mervin potentiometer thin attack trek butchery revere ciceronian okay sloven bedtime corvus eh breakoff bursty another thomas bausch sop bellwether euclidean determinant chard siam trim yiddish arenaceous aurora bodice mynah countryman blueberry decrement belie malaprop acrimony dortmund sinuous thorn supplant abundant dot because ralph harmonica monk shakespearian apostolic usable ostensible exudation white sword chilly flung instable cadent broccoli contact salk splice dauphine fidelity ohmmeter diesel bogus northward balsa diluent dunkirk fmc barrett alphabet unction average tab indigo arragon beatrice vinegar denominate ruinous breakoff invariable scrim shrivel brice woods charybdis slender galactose manama nerve homogeneity chew convoy lisa flask benson semaphore brad ditty crash attainder chaise bandgap boylston asset edition fall completion agglutinate phonetic glaswegian shave inhabitation style remorseful strobe celluloid integral r's ct schuyler burst etude menace oracle comatose oslo sidelong applause cunningham machinery arsenic wapiti cruelty acceptor colossi gelatine by aerospace hike errancy lariat diagnosis emittance bedimming dolan momentous piecemeal strife guaranteeing iceberg infinite decontrol anorthite top opulent issuance bagpipe accurate candlewick implicant peale traitor cranky anatomy saturate scab possum stratify teeing cryptogram fitch gloriana notch clamp judy backfill seminole hut grey upstater offsetting essential fantasy billiard denote adenoma humphrey moines eft orthonormal afghan basemen firm optic crust cutthroat combinatoric burgundian haircut arena prevention acidulous ashman ostensible circumference carpentry beckman deluxe vreeland chorus konrad multiplexor ernie sweeten orifice pith rasa cabin parrish pomade caribbean dar buchenwald aorta cafeteria geographer rudy bellini kerygma ramada perfuse gino campbell almaden componentry canaan flew bistable samuel debenture contrition alumna ridgway svelte bubble honolulu caleb agee brushlike rash prominent penetrable visible algorithm thiamin bissau chargeable dichotomous vista dixon strain alliterate dryden kajar neve brain hausdorff perennial balsam coincidental conundrum digestive beechwood crinkle dwindle
WTF?
Posted: 2004-03-07 05:17pm
by General Zod
i've received spam like this before. it's usually best just to delete email from anyone you don't recognize.
Posted: 2004-03-07 05:28pm
by Drewcifer
I have filters that send all that stuff straight to the trash, but this one caught my eye, and being too curious for my own good, I checked it out. I was offline, so no spam phonecalls home, and I have my comp pretty locked down, so no scripts and such can run w/o me saying ok.
I just thought it was strange to include seemingly random text that was actual words. Weird.
Oh, and I love commas.
Possible Virus
Posted: 2004-03-07 05:48pm
by Aaron
Be careful with those. I get them occasionally and Norten always flags them as carrying a virus.
Re: Possible Virus
Posted: 2004-03-07 05:54pm
by SyntaxVorlon
Cpl Kendall wrote:Be careful with those. I get them occasionally and Norten always flags them as carrying a virus.
AHHH!
Unclean unclean!
(We apologize for the outburst, the vorlon was listening to some old monty python sketches and has gone a bit mad.)
Posted: 2004-03-07 05:59pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
They're keywords.
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:05pm
by Elheru Aran
Keywords for what? I get the same kinda crap sometimes...
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:05pm
by Einhander Sn0m4n
They're called Hash Busters. They're also a very sure sign that a spammer knows his shit is unwanted and is actively trying to force it on the victim anyway.
Take them as the admission of guilt they are...
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:09pm
by fgalkin
If I were in charge, spamming and creating/spreading worms would be punishable by death.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:13pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
fgalkin wrote:If I were in charge, spamming and creating/spreading worms would be punishable by death.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Careful there...
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:18pm
by Elheru Aran
y'know, it's not so bad a punishment... but death is just a bit extreme, don't you think? Lengthy prison sentences-- and a computer in their cells... which receives NOTHING but spam, spam, spam!
appropriate, don't you think?
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:19pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
I was more making a reference to the occurance that people seem to always jump on my ass when I state opinions like that.
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:21pm
by Einhander Sn0m4n
fgalkin wrote:If I were in charge, spamming and creating/spreading worms would be punishable by death.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
LMAO!!!
I like the Propellerhead Solution, aka Mail-Order Meatspace DDoS Attack:
- 1.Find Spammer's Home Meatspace Address and Phone Number
2. Post Address and Phone to Sysadmin Haunts like Slashdot and NANAE
3. Thousands of Disgruntled Sysadmins and Other Geeks Spam the SHIT Outta that Address with Mail Order Merch (COD, natch, Nonrefundable and/or Perishable preferred), Magazines, Obscure Fetish Porn, and Any Other Crap They Can Find at All Hours of the Day for Weeks on End
4. Spammer Gets Rudely Taken to School on Why Spam=BAD!!!
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:23pm
by Elheru Aran
Lol... that's a great solution! Why didn't I think of it...
some of the people here are just seriously evil!
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:25pm
by Einhander Sn0m4n
Elheru Aran wrote: Lol... that's a great solution! Why didn't I think of it...
some of the people here are just seriously evil!
It's already happened a few times...
Posted: 2004-03-07 06:26pm
by fgalkin
Elheru Aran wrote:y'know, it's not so bad a punishment... but death is just a bit extreme, don't you think? Lengthy prison sentences-- and a computer in their cells... which receives NOTHING but spam, spam, spam!
appropriate, don't you think?
Well, they would spend years on death row, just like everyone else (the average time is 7 years, I think).
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Posted: 2004-03-07 07:37pm
by phongn
Yes, that junk in the e-mail is for busting spamfilters. Of course, it is also a dead giveaway.
Posted: 2004-03-08 02:59am
by Vertigo1
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:fgalkin wrote:If I were in charge, spamming and creating/spreading worms would be punishable by death.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
LMAO!!!
I like the Propellerhead Solution, aka Mail-Order Meatspace DDoS Attack:
- 1.Find Spammer's Home Meatspace Address and Phone Number
2. Post Address and Phone to Sysadmin Haunts like Slashdot and NANAE
3. Thousands of Disgruntled Sysadmins and Other Geeks Spam the SHIT Outta that Address with Mail Order Merch (COD, natch, Nonrefundable and/or Perishable preferred), Magazines, Obscure Fetish Porn, and Any Other Crap They Can Find at All Hours of the Day for Weeks on End
4. Spammer Gets Rudely Taken to School on Why Spam=BAD!!!
OR
Take that information and use it to buy yourself a SHITLOAD of porn. Thats what I do to telemarketers too stupid to block caller ID. (and yes I do check the number to make sure its not the number of some innocent joe schmoe.
Posted: 2004-03-08 04:15am
by Drewcifer
Hash-busting. hmmm...interesting. It makes perfect sense now! Thanks Dale.
And you know, the dirty little secret about spammers is that ISP's love them. They can make good money off of a spammer, like any large bandwidth customer.
Just like the big media companies: they have policies against porn, yet they're more than happy to carry adult content on their fiber and distribute it via pay-pay-view on their satellites and cable networks for the majority of the profits.
Posted: 2004-03-08 08:17am
by the_ace
Drewcifer wrote:And you know, the dirty little secret about spammers is that ISP's love them. They can make good money off of a spammer, like any large bandwidth customer.
Just like the big media companies: they have policies against porn, yet they're more than happy to carry adult content on their fiber and distribute it via pay-pay-view on their satellites and cable networks for the majority of the profits.
Its a vicious circle I tell you!
Posted: 2004-03-08 01:16pm
by GrandMasterTerwynn
Drewcifer wrote:I have filters that send all that stuff straight to the trash, but this one caught my eye, and being too curious for my own good, I checked it out. I was offline, so no spam phonecalls home, and I have my comp pretty locked down, so no scripts and such can run w/o me saying ok.
I just thought it was strange to include seemingly random text that was actual words. Weird.
Oh, and I love commas.
Specifically, what the block of text is meant to do is to throw as many "valid" words as possible at the spam filter. Valid meaning words that would be used in serious non-spam correspondence. The typical spam filter first looks for obvious keywords/phrases that would indicate that a given message is spam. (Such as "GET VIAGRA FOR LESS!") This is why you see a lot of spam that looks like this: ("GET \/ 1 A G RA FOR LESS!")
However, going by this approach alone is liable to send a lot of ham to the bit bucket along with the spam, since you might be discussing the relative merits of getting Viagra with your buddies in the American Legion. So a spam filter might also look at the content of the message. It will count up how many spam keywords it finds, and then compare that to the number of legitimate keywords it finds. If the proportion is of spam to ham is sufficiently low, the message is marked valid and is passed onto your inbox.
This is why some spam messages have high numbers of random words strung together. Since your spam filter has no English comprehension skills whatsoever, it has no clue that it's being spoofed. Even more disturbing is that spammers could concievably tack on a small number of valid keywords and almost guarantee that their filth will slip by your spam filters every single time.
Posted: 2004-03-08 06:07pm
by Comosicus
Mind if I borrow that smiley?
Posted: 2004-03-08 07:03pm
by Einhander Sn0m4n
Comosicus wrote:
Mind if I borrow that smiley?
It's free for the taking. I got it at
www.mysmilies.com (popup blocker recommended just in case their webhost gets assholeish)...
Posted: 2004-03-08 07:29pm
by Comosicus
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Comosicus wrote:
Mind if I borrow that smiley?
It's free for the taking. I got it at
www.mysmilies.com (popup blocker recommended just in case their webhost gets assholeish)...
Thank you!
Posted: 2004-03-08 09:54pm
by The Yosemite Bear
Remember I am still trying to comendeer that Ion Cannon sattilite so that I can rain hellfire from above on those evil spammers and telemarketers.