Spam on the Internet - 2008-11-24

The Internet has been called the Wild West because it is vast, uncharted and has a real lack of law enforcement. It is not difficult to hide for someone to hid their identity on the Internet and say or do things that one would not do openly.

Spamming is bad enough. But spamming is just like getting unsolicited flyers delivered by the Post Office or dropped at your door. The difference is that SPAM can and may contain viruses, Trojans, bots and other things that can steal your confidential information or take over your computer and cause it to do harm to you and others, including your friends.

I am sure we have all experienced email pretending to be from Citibank, or PayPal and a million other well known entities, hoping that you will click on their link or give them your PIN number or security code, etc.

What all Internet users must learn is that SPAM will always be with us, and not to open attachments or click on links unless you are certain where this email is coming from. The fact that it says it is coming from PayPal or Citibank is not enough --- if you were not expecting it, it is likely bad email.

I am sure you have all received emails from a bank you have no dealings with, telling you something about your account with that bank. This is called Phishing. Hoping to hook a sucker who really deals with that bank or who is lets down their guard and clicks on a link. What is worse is receiving an email pretending to be the bank you do deal with.

Recently some of you may have received emails suggesting that you could get a bundle of websites, including Naked News for a few dollars by clicking on a link and signing up with your credit card information. Rest assured that these emails are not from Naked News or anyone associated with us, and there is no such offer. These emails are from people trying to steal your credit card information. They send out millions of these emails and hope to hook as many fish as they can.

This is very dangerous spam so stay vigilant and stay informed. The Internet is a wonderous tool but also a very dangerous one.

We would very much like to hear your experiences with spam and malware so that we can share some of them with our audience. Please write us at Feedback@nakednews.com with your stories or ideas.