Messaging spam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messaging spam, sometimes called SPIM,^[1][2][3] is a type of spam targeting users of instant messaging (IM) services.

The increase in messaging spam may be motivated by the rise in popularity of instant messenger services, as well as the many steps to crack down on spamming since the late 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

Instant messaging applications

Instant messaging systems, such as Yahoo! Messenger, AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Tencent QQ, ICQ, and Myspace chat rooms, are popular targets for spammers. Many IM systems offer a directory of users, including demographic information such as age and sex. Advertisers can gather this information, sign on to the system, and send unsolicited messages, which could include repetitions of words or phrases to annoy or get the attention of the victim. Microsoft has announced that the upcoming Windows Live Messenger 9.0 would support specialized features to combat messaging spam. ^[4]

Countermeasures

• Many users choose to receive IMs only from people already on their contact list.
• The free AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service allows users to 'warn' other users. The warning decreases the number of messages an account can send, slowing down spam, and shows the AIM address as warned to other users that it may try to message. This feature does have the potential for abuse, although such cases are minimal.
• In corporate settings, spam over IM is blocked by IM security products like those from Akonix, ScanSafe, Symantec, and CSC. Spam blocking is one of the functions performed by these specialized products, along with virus scanning, filtering for inappropriate use or harassing language, and archiving for compliance to policies and regulations.

Messenger Service spam on Windows NT-based systems

Example of Messenger Service spam from 2002.

In 2002, a number of spammers began abusing the Messenger Service, a function of Windows designed to allow servers to send alerts to administrator workstations (not to be confused with Windows Live Messenger, a free instant messaging application) in Microsoft's Windows NT-based operating systems. Messenger Service spam appears as normal dialog boxes containing the spammer's message. These messages are easily blocked by firewalls configured to block packets to the NetBIOS ports 135-139 and 445 as well as unsolicited UDP packets to ports above 1024^[5]. Additionally, Windows XP Service Pack 2 disables the Messenger Service by default.

Messenger Service spammers frequently send messages to vulnerable Windows machines with a URL. The message promises the user to eradicate spam messages sent via the Messenger Service. The URL leads to a Web site where, for a fee, users are told how to disable the Messenger service. Though the Messenger is easily disabled for free by the user, this works because it creates a perceived need and then offers an immediate solution.

References

1. ^ CNET: Spim, splog on the rise
2. ^ New Scientist: Spam being rapidly outpaced by spim
3. ^ Spamfo: SPIM, your new spam
4. ^ Jeremy Kirk. "Microsoft to clamp down on spam over IM". IDG News. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
5. ^ "Messenger Service window that contains an Internet advertisement appears". Microsoft. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.