Crazy On Tap - Is it just me, or is this retarded?
Is it just me, or is this retarded?
Guy posts a paranoid article on Slashdot claiming that his online trading account has been compromised because he's receiving spams to a "private" email address used only for his trading.
Err.. couldn't the emails have fairly easily been intercepted en-route? SMTP isn't exactly an encrypted protocol.
And isn't it possible that he used a weak password, or whatever?
People are telling him to file complaints with the FTC, the FBI, etc etc and all comments are basically hostile toward the trading company, but it seems likely to me that the company itself hasn't been compromised at all and there's a more mundane explanation for this guy's spam problem.
muppet September 23rd, 2006 11:26am	The guy just says "it was coming in to an email address I had dedicated to my online trading account account." Which to me is a slightly different story security-wise. He could have used the address for other purposes before he 'dedicated' it.
John Haren September 23rd, 2006 12:03pm	But even aside from that possibility, it's not as though it's difficult for somebody to snag a random email address off the wire.
muppet September 23rd, 2006 12:07pm	Entirely true.
John Haren September 23rd, 2006 12:14pm	Retarded. Could be spammers just send stuff to random email address. For example, all 3 letter acronyms at some domain. Could be he registered for some newsletter and forgot about it. This guy and most of slashdot are idiots.
cpm September 23rd, 2006 12:23pm	That's how the spammers found me. I used a too-short username, and they brute-forced their way to it.
Which is easy, when sending emails doesn't cost you anything.
xampl September 23rd, 2006 2:29pm	Hmmm, I don't know. I use spamgourmet.com which lets you set up an account, say 'bob' then just make up email addresses as you want them, like crazyontap.bob@spamgourmet.com. I occasionally start getting spam from an address even though I _know_ that I won't have used it anywhere else, and it's pretty much from an address that I gave to a company I was a bit skeptical about giving my address to in the first place. I think that the company selling out my details is far more likely that some ISP or backbone grabbing it off the wire.
r1ch September 23rd, 2006 3:50pm	"Could be spammers just send stuff to random email address."
Back during the spamwars (98-01ish) it was well documented that spammers used dictionary attacks to try email addresses. That's why it's so evil to click the "click this link to stop receiving spam" link, and why webbugging was created - to verify email read by real-life people that could then be moved to the higher-revenue "send to real people" spam lists.
Steel McLargeEsquimaux September 24th, 2006 3:32pm	This topic is archived. No further replies will be accepted.
Crazy On Tap - Is it just me, or is this retarded?
Is it just me, or is this retarded?
Guy posts a paranoid article on Slashdot claiming that his online trading account has been compromised because he's receiving spams to a "private" email address used only for his trading.
Err.. couldn't the emails have fairly easily been intercepted en-route? SMTP isn't exactly an encrypted protocol.
And isn't it possible that he used a weak password, or whatever?
People are telling him to file complaints with the FTC, the FBI, etc etc and all comments are basically hostile toward the trading company, but it seems likely to me that the company itself hasn't been compromised at all and there's a more mundane explanation for this guy's spam problem.
muppet September 23rd, 2006 11:26am	The guy just says "it was coming in to an email address I had dedicated to my online trading account account." Which to me is a slightly different story security-wise. He could have used the address for other purposes before he 'dedicated' it.
John Haren September 23rd, 2006 12:03pm	But even aside from that possibility, it's not as though it's difficult for somebody to snag a random email address off the wire.
muppet September 23rd, 2006 12:07pm	Entirely true.
John Haren September 23rd, 2006 12:14pm	Retarded. Could be spammers just send stuff to random email address. For example, all 3 letter acronyms at some domain. Could be he regis
tered for some newsletter and forgot about it. This guy and most of slashdot are idiots.
cpm September 23rd, 2006 12:23pm	That's how the spammers found me. I used a too-short username, and they brute-forced their way to it.
Which is easy, when sending emails doesn't cost you anything.
xampl September 23rd, 2006 2:29pm	Hmmm, I don't know. I use spamgourmet.com which lets you set up an account, say 'bob' then just make up email addresses as you want them, like crazyontap.bob@spamgourmet.com. I occasionally start getting spam from an address even though I _know_ that I won't have used it anywhere else, and it's pretty much from an address that I gave to a company I was a bit skeptical about giving my address to in the first place. I think that the company selling out my details is far more likely that some ISP or backbone grabbing it off the wire.
r1ch September 23rd, 2006 3:50pm	"Could be spammers just send stuff to random email address."
Back during the spamwars (98-01ish) it was well documented that spammers used dictionary attacks to try email addresses. That's why it's so evil to click the "click this link to stop receiving spam" link, and why webbugging was created - to verify email read by real-life people that could then be moved to the higher-revenue "send to real people" spam lists.
Steel McLargeEsquimaux September 24th, 2006 3:32pm	This topic is archived. No further replies will be accepted.