Spammers Announce World War III 334
schliz writes with the stub of a disheartening article at IT News: "Hackers are deluging web users with malware-laden spam claiming that World War III has started following a US invasion of Iran. Security experts warned [yesterday] that spam emails with subject lines including 'Third World War has begun,' '20000 US Soldiers in Iran,' and 'US Army crossed Iran's borders' have been intercepted. The emails contain links to a malicious webpage that displays what appears to be a video player showing the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion."
That spam was shopped (Score:5, Funny)
I can tell from the text and seeing quite a few spams in my time.
Re:That spam was shopped (Score:5, Funny)
the shadows are all off too
The obligatory "Obligatory" (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The obligatory "Obligatory" (Score:5, Funny)
The sad thing is I offer swords for sale that are airbrushed.
The sadder thing is people buy them. ;)
Re:The obligatory "Obligatory" (Score:5, Funny)
Do they do white damage?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
The saddest thing is you don't have a link!
Re:The obligatory "Obligatory" (Score:4, Funny)
|> letslaughbecauseoftypos (tagging beta)
Breaking news! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Interesting)
This isn't new or interesting -- it's a classic pump and dump, most likely on the price of oil.
(1) Buy oil futures
(2) Pump spam/disinformation about a US military strike in Iran.
(2a) Do this when US/Israeli officials are making strong statements
(2b) because Iran has just tested some missiles
(3) Watch the price of oil go up 4-5% in a day http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/ [bloomberg.com]
(4) (Sell your oil futures at a) Profit!
Yawn . . .
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
oil futures aren't exactly a junk stock. good luck making an impact on those prices with a spam email campaign. there's a reason they usually target little stuff you've never heard of.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Your comment is delightfully self-contradictory.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, it isn't. A single Prius might not use much gas compared to a single Hummer, but lots and lots of Priuses still use lots and lots of gas.
A workable solution is not obvious, but it *is* clear that we aren't heading for one. Electric vehicles would work if there was a decent source of electricity. Such are possible, but progress in that direction appears slow and diffuse. The real stumbling block seems to be how to store large quantities of electricity, as the desirable ways of generation seem t
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Informative)
The problem with the Prius is the energy cost of battery production. While the study that came out a while back drew a nonsensical conclusion, it does appear that the lifetime energy cost of the Prius is similar to that of a Hummer.
Supposedly this problem will be greatly mitigated when the new battery plant opens in Fremont, CA. (IIRC it was Fremont, anyway.)
Yes, if one allows breeders nuclear is certainly better than coal; coal puts absolute craploads of nuclear material (including a small percentage of fissile uranium) into the atmosphere; in fact, so much that if you could extract it and use it in nuclear reactors (it is mostly thorium, followed by non-fissile uranium) it would produce more energy than the coal burned.
Coal is horrible, nuclear is potentially not so terrible, but without breeders is definitely pretty foul. Anyway there are two feasible sources of electricity available to us right now: Small-scale wind farms are cheap and easy to build and attach to the grid, and small vertical wind turbines could be installed on almost any roof and grid-tied, and photovoltaic solar panels pay back the energy cost of their production in less than seven years, and have been known to do so for over thirty years.
Solar is kind of dirty, but the wind turbines can be made out of almost anything. And a lot of the dirtiness of solar production is involved in the energy input. But the whole point of the exercise is producing more energy output which requires a minimum additional investment in energy consumption and pollution - so long that it can be done at an acceptable environmental cost.
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Informative)
I'm tired of this crap about Prius being the same lifetime energy cost as a Hummer. It's total bunk, and here's why: The Hummer's energy cost is in moving a giant object around inefficiently, which expends a lot of energy (Gasoline). The Prius's energy cost is creating it's batteries, which it then uses to move it around a lot more efficiently. However, when the lifetime of the Prius is over, all that energy isn't wasted. The batteries don't disappear. They are still there and can easily (And it's incredibly cost-efficient to do so) be recycled. Thus the 'total energy cost' of the next set of batteries is drastically lower.
So yes, the initial 'startup cost' of the batteries is high, but thereafter the batteries can be recycled an theoretically infinite number of times, which brings it's 'total lifetime energy cost' far below what a Hummer could ever expect.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
However, when the lifetime of the Prius is over, all that energy isn't wasted. The batteries don't disappear. They are still there and can easily (And it's incredibly cost-efficient to do so) be recycled. Thus the 'total energy cost' of the next set of batteries is drastically lower.
The energy cost of recycling the batteries is actually not drastically lower either; much of the cost of manufacturing the Prius batteries is in the shipping costs. Guess what they're doing to do when they recycle batteries? It's cheaper to do it almost anywhere but in the US due to environmental restrictions.
the batteries can be recycled an theoretically infinite number of times
heh heh.
Nothing is free, anyway. The recycling process is not just shaking some pixie dust on the old batteries.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Informative)
Those wind turbines are LOUD. Let me put one in your back yard and you'll run screaming from the house in less than 24hrs. ... ask the bird population how much they like us sticking a bunch of food processor blades into the air?
FUD, FUD, FUD.
Modern wind turbines are neither shaped like a propeller, nor do they operate at high speeds. Consequently, they don't make much noise, either.
The most efficient designs are all vertical turbines, many of which actually operate at fairly low RPMs, and some of which were used by the ancient Romans. So actually, ancient wind turbines didn't have these problems either.
Re:Breaking news! (Score:4, Insightful)
The nuclear waste issue still hasn't changed, until someone finds a way to filter out the Radio Active stuff from the Non Radio Active stuff, nuclear waste is f'ing dangerous.
Breeder reactors make that waste dramatically less dangerous and reduce the half-life to something potentially manageable on a human time scale.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, but that increase has been priced in for months. If you want to make profit now you have to change the game a little.
Re:Breaking news! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
This just in, the US invades Iran with 12,000,000 troops and nuclear bazookas. Click here to see exclusive footage!
Motives for Spam and Country of origin (Score:3, Interesting)
More than likely, it is just a shock type of attention getting mail. However, what if it is state sponsored spam by another country.
Obviously, there are countries out there that would like the US&As reputation damaged, and this may help do that. There are countries with states sponsored hackers, trying to hack US government/Pentagon computers, so why wouldn't they also attempt psychological damage as well?
If you here rumors, over and over again about someones behavior, then you might start to think th
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
How the hell... (Score:5, Insightful)
Did spam make it to the front page?
It has to be a really slow news day if we get an article explaining what is in specific pieces of spam.
I'm waiting patiently for Slashdot to post the Nigerian folks that always email for the millions they have to give away. Because you know -- that is real news. For nerds. Stuff that matters.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously. This is a routine virus, and a routine social exploit. This doesn't even qualify as news that doesn't matter, because then it would have to be news.
Slashdot is just a good corporate citizen. (Score:5, Funny)
Be sure you filter out any email about Iran [slashdot.org] to help out Uncle Sam. Oh yeah, buy war bonds and get back to wark.
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
It has to be a really slow news day if we get an article explaining what is in specific pieces of spam.
I'm a fan of the subjects. Here's a handful I've received recently:
It's basic marketing / copywriting.
Re: (Score:2)
Can't believe you've missed out on this gem:
"Speed up your nightclub successes with a realistic diamond-studded Rollex"
I've blocked about 20,000 of those in the last 24 hours.
Re:How the hell... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
Natalie Portman shaves again
I'm glad to hear that, I never really liked her with the beard.
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
I've never seen that one before -- and it's simultaneously the funniest euphemism for that I've heard in a while, and the most shockingly wrong way to put that!
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Interesting)
The most invoative one I saw slip by my filter recently was:
Increase the effectiveness of your copulation organ
I found this troubling in that the only word I could safely blacklist on our corporate mail filters is probably
copulation
I can't imagine anyone except maybe the HR department needing to send work related message with that word in the subject, and even then I can't imagine it would be hit our public MX.
If copulation could be eliminated then blocking a spam like this will only be possible via the statistical analysis of the entire message; sure this entire specific subject might be filterable but not the individual words.
Unless something is a miss in the headers its going to get by.
It made me wonder if the doom and gloom folks might be correct in that SPAM will make traditional mail realy useless. Sadly SPF and related methods are not an option as we just can't count on our customers to implement it and risk not being about to exchange mail with them. Sure if a problem is discovered whitelists can be used but by then you may have lost an account.
The other interesting thing is that would anyone educated enough to have the vocabulary to required understand that subject be ignorant enough to respond? I know the economics of SPAM are such that even if 1 in a million people bite, its worth it but as that first number approches 0 its gotta stop being worth while somewhere.
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
The other interesting thing is that would anyone educated enough to have the vocabulary to required understand that subject be ignorant enough to respond?
An interesting question, undoubtedly the forte of many an erudite scholar, but by this point in your post I was far to enthralled by my quest for illicit viagra to ponder its myriad complexities.
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
the most shockingly wrong way to put that
yeah, cannons don't shoot bombs.
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
*sigh*
Re:How the hell... (Score:4, Funny)
My spam is praying on my low self-esteem. Here's a couple I received in the past week:
*sigh*
Strong Bad must be ramping up his spammertisments again.
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
That's no spam, that's your girlfriend.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:How the hell... (Score:5, Funny)
'Louder screaming is only the beginning'
That may be the one and only spam that made my day better.
OK, Here's my top picks from the past week or so. (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Then, I take it you're a big fan of Spamusement [spamusement.com].
Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
Survivalist Suppliers announces - buy a lifetimes supply of Viagra for your mountain forest bunker today. What are you going to do when the black gold runs out - you won't be able to drive to the pharmacy then. One large box lasts 5 years and only costs $99.99. Buy a lifetimes supply and get an extra 50% absolutely free. Cash payments only.
Re: (Score:2)
If i'm lucky though, the penis enlargement will not be necessary, as my penis will mutate like a worm at Chernobyl and become 50% longer.
Re: (Score:2)
Hmmm. I could do that without the Viagra, and if mine grew by 50%, I'd be limited to procreating with 8' tall women..
Re:Hmm (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
Death by snoo snoo?
Re:Hmm (Score:4, Funny)
If I end up as the last male on the planet and must single handedly repopulate the planet...
If you're doing it single handedly, you're not going to produce much of a repopulation.
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
If you buy a lifetime supply why do you need the 50% extra?
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
World War III is starting? Oh god, I still haven't received my check from that Nigerian prince! And where's my viagra?
Yeah, because that's the first thing I'm going to be worried about when WWIII starts: Boners.
Though I guess it is a legitimate concern, due to the widespread boner shortage in the states in WWII, which didn't end until after the war when the market was flooded with them.
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
See, we have to preserve our purity. of. essence. and repopulate the planet.
Re:Hmm (Score:4, Funny)
Mr. President; we must not allow a mine-shaft gap!
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
You can't fight in here! This is the war room!
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Repercussions (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder what the possible effects of a coordinated disinformation attack of such nature would be, if it managed to deliver said news to a large segment of the world's population (that have access to email). If such an act was coupled with a successful hacking operation on even one of the major news network's websites, serious consequences may erupt.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
free cheddar
As long as you have a plan to stop the barbarions from dyeing it yellow, you have my full support.
I found one of these this morning in my inbox (Score:3, Insightful)
I simply deleted it, just like all the other spam. About once or twice a month I see a clever newish kind of spam subject. Tell me again why this particular spam meme hit the homepage of /.?
Easy (Score:5, Interesting)
this is is particularly eye catching, given current work events. Since it is different, many people will click on it anyways.
I know some people who I will be sending an email to about this story so they don't click on it.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Do you realize how many people get angry, and how many conversation turn ugly becasue someone didn't realize it was sarcasm.
Sarcasm, while funny, is different then a joke.
Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested, and the frog dies of it. - E.B.White
Doesn't sound like spam... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't sound like spam... (Score:5, Informative)
Bot nets are used to push out more malware-pushing content, the better to grow the bot net. These can be used very effectively to extort cash from web site operators by means of a site-debilitating distributed denial of service attacks. Many bot nets are used to try hugely random (and somewhat successful) SQL injection attacks from all sorts of random IP addresses, the better to target specific users of specific web sites with JS-based malware iFrames, etc. The days of just trying to get you to buy something are
Defining SPAM Re:Doesn't sound like spam... (Score:3, Interesting)
I think SPAM is best defined as any email you receive that you don't want and was sent without your specific permission. The intent of the email is irrelevant.
I've sent SPAM on behalf of a government agency before (coerced by management after weeks of resistance) and all they wanted to do was give people information they didn't want about lead paint poisoning. AOL blacklisted us as SPAMmers and they were right to do so, even tho their actual motive was just to charge us money to deliver email.
Another good e
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The standard definition of spam is "unsolicited bulk email". Remember, it's about consent, not content.
Google could help (Score:2, Interesting)
Like their "report phishing" email flag, a similar "report virus/trojan link" button could help a lot of people, tie this to their badware project and testing the reported site (if x number of users report the same mail)
and it could do a lot for cutting down bot traffic targeted at GMail users
takes me 2 seconds to check a mail (they are easy to spot over the Viagra/Penis spam) call it "distributed malware reporting"
nearly everyday i get multiple emails with a provocative title that contains a link leading t
This is the way the world ends (Score:5, Funny)
Not with a bang but a can of luncheon meat.
GWASTED (Score:5, Funny)
This gives me a new hope.
Now we can divert some of the resources from the Global War On Terror (GWOT) and fight the Global War Against Spam, Terror, & Erectile Dysfunction (GWASTED).
Re:GWASTED (Score:4, Funny)
GWASTED
Don't mind if I do!
Re:GWASTED (Score:4, Funny)
Fools (Score:5, Funny)
WWIII isn't scheduled to begin for another two weeks, and it's going to involve a fake attack on the US by "Iran" (actually the CIA) followed by a massive "retaliatory strike", not an invasion by any US forces. Can't these spammers get anything right?
Re: (Score:2)
It's nice to see you post kere Mr Cheney..or maybe I should just call you dick.
Re: (Score:2)
Worked for them on 9/11
Re:Fools (Score:5, Funny)
No, no, no. Two weeks from now Europe, Russia, and Central Asia unite and declare the second Soviet Union. Then the CIA (which is secretly a branch of the KGB) sends secret agents to hijack the International Space Station (secretly insured by the guy that owned the Twin Towers) and crash it onto their own headquarters. After that, Canada, the USA, Mexico, and (just because it'd be weird) Chile unite and invade Iran, at which point the Chinese (who are secretly controlled by New Zealand) nuke us. Then we nuke them. And then the Russians nuke Australia, just for good measure.
In the mean time, Charlton Heston (who secretly isn't actually dead) has somehow gotten into a light-speed rocket, and...
Did I miss anything? Oh right, the Antichrist. Well fuck him, this conspiracy theory is already full. Besides, nobody likes Dick Cheney anyway.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
What obvious poppycock! (Score:5, Funny)
It's amazing how people can be tricked by something that is on its surface so laughable that it should be dismissed outright!
After all, how could World War III possibly have started when World War II hasn't even ended yet?! Just because there's no obvious troop movements or visible battles doesn't mean that merged ghosts of Churchill and Roosevelt along with their dark ally Zombie Stalin don't yet wage war against the forces of Hitler's Head and the demon-animated armor of Hirohito! No, you can see the effects of this conflict every day in the fluctuations of the price of milk to the record of the Essex cricket team. So don't believe anything you read about some ludicrous World War III until you see the purple flag of the Undying Allies flying over the White House, indicating our inevitable triumph!
After that, though, it's fair game.
massively stupid (Score:2, Insightful)
Run! (Score:2)
An offshoot of the penny stock spam? (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder if this has something to do with the penny stock spams...you know, spammers send a bunch of emails promoting a penny stock so the price goes up, then they sell the stock while it's up...
Perhaps, they bought a bunch of oil, sent out a spam about Iran being invaded to get speculators to buy oil, driving the price up, and then cash in?
They finally filled in the ???
1. Buy oil
2. Send out Spam saying Iran has been invaded.
3. Speculators buy on the "news" (formerly ???)
4. Profit!
Re:An offshoot of the penny stock spam? (Score:4, Interesting)
I suspect they just figured a way around some spam filters for a little while. Most anything novel should get by for a while, once it starts getting flagged it should dissipate.
Making connections out of the info fragments (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's assume the expected oil price minus all the speculation, is per IEA calculations, around $70-80/barrel. If Iran gets attacked, it is likely they will attempt to block the Straits of Hormuz by destroying passing oil tankers. If they succeed, it will at a stroke remove 60% of world oil supply from the market. The shock of that happening would cause the oil price to spike to well over $200/barrel,
In an effort to immitate spammers... (Score:5, Funny)
WWIII (Score:2, Informative)
Sadly enough WWIII is called the War on Terror, and it has already started since September 11, 2001.
So the next war will be World War IV, which a BBS software package WWIV was named after. :)
Re: (Score:2)
You're forgetting the War on Drugs. WWV comes next.
The Iranians are coming (Score:5, Funny)
One if by Spam,
Two if by sea.
Blowing up the Earth? (Score:5, Funny)
Crap, that's where I keep all my stuff.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Crap, that's where I keep all my stuff.
Tell me about it, I just finished renegotiating my mortgage!
Confiscate their computers (Score:4, Insightful)
Everyone who is a part of a botnet should have their computer confiscated. They are too dumb to be allowed to have one.
We can easily wipe, the machine's hard drive and then install a new OS and you have a computer to give away to schools.
Two problems solved at once: one less idiot on the net and a free computer for a school.
Impossible, or highly unlikely for quite some time (Score:3, Interesting)
World War III is just not going to happen anytime soon, at least a non-nuclear war. If it is nuclear than everyone is fucked everywhere and it's a moot point. We may go in and destroy Iran, but that is hardly going to escalate into WWIII. Just look at the countries and continents involved.
Antarctica and the Artic: Hmmmm, last the checked the Intuit peoples and the Penguins did not have some sort of secret alliance and hidden military. Probably not a player in WWIII.
Australia: Kind of remote. Might contribute troops but hardly the location for WWIII or the political force to cause it either.
Greenland: Too busy with awesome blond chicks, high tech data centers, and hot spas. Not interested in causing it and no one is interested in attacking it.
North America - Canada: Highly doubtful. If anything, they will be an innocent bystander that gets hurt when the US gets attacked. Won't start WWIII either.
North America - United States: Oh, the US will be involved. Bet your ass on that. Could start it too most likely if we have another idiot child president. Will it host the war on its own continent? Probably not. Getting troops and equipment to the US is a heck of a lot harder than Red Dawn made it out to be. Candidate for World War III.
North America - Mexico: They have problems of their own right now with the drug cartels and political scandals. Don't have anything military wise capable of waging a strategic war away from their own continent. No one is interested in attacking them, and they don't seem to be interested in attacking anyone else either.
South America - All: Way to involved in their own affairs and completely lack any military infrastructure capable of operations away from their home soil. Other than having a country with a president that likes to verbally attack the US, not much to see here. Who wants to invade and attack them? I dunno either.
Europe: Look at the countries that make up the EU. They don't want to start anything anywhere. They are far more diplomatic about dealing with the middle east than the US is. I doubt they will be invaded and I don't see them causing World War III either. Took a major chill pill after World War II. They are on break, and don't even get me started on the French.
Eastern Europe: Still getting on their feet IMO. Lack the resources or the will to put up much of fight for anything. I know there are some tensions between some east european countries and Russia regarding missile defense, but not very likely to start World War III.
Japan: Too busy making and selling entertainment equipment, cars, and used womens panties. They figured out the best way to wage war was with skyscrapers and advanced technology in products. Next.
Africa: Yeah, right. They are too busy being butt raped for resources by the rest of the world and dealing with chronic disease and gang rapes of women. Next.
South East Asia: Not very likely. I can't see any country being invaded or doing the invading.
North Korea: Will launch a single attack and promptly be totally destroyed within days. Everybody will ignore the rotting corpse and nobody will come to their aid, certainly not China. China would only object if there was a nuclear response to North Korea which is not totally necessary.
India: More interesting. If anything happens they might take the opportunity to attack Pakistan since they just love each other.
Russia: Who are they going to fight? US? China? Not until resources become absolutely critical. We got the missile defense deal going, which does remind me of the Cuban Missile crisis, but actuall
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Look at the countries that make up the EU. They don't want to start anything anywhere. They are far more diplomatic about dealing with the middle east than the US is. I doubt they will be invaded and I don't see them causing World War III either. Took a major chill pill after World War II. They are on break, and don't even get me started on the French.
More like they were castrated after WW/II by American Troops being stationed throughout Europe to prevent them from starting yet another war. There is no qu
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Firstly, if each EU nation decided to turn on the American troops based in their countries, what are the US going to do ? Bomb their own troops ? (probably, going by past events).
Secondly, how much does the US spend on its military every day ? And how much of that is spent to maintain defences on foreign soil.
Seems like the EU gets the best deal
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The US troops were left in Europe to hold the USSR back, not to prevent another war in Europe. In fact Europe was to be the battleground.
It's true that much of the reason was to hold the USSR back (though, let's not forget that Eastern Europe is still Europe), but after two world wars, do you really think the nature of the countries of Europe suddenly turned into peaceful loving countries? Hardly. The United States might've primarily been talking about holding back the USSR from aggressive expansion (whic
Re:Impossible, or highly unlikely for quite some t (Score:5, Interesting)
There is no question WW/III would have happened if the United States hadn't taken over nearly all the military operations in Europe.
"No question"? Really? [citation needed].
Perhaps you're thinking about the Morgenthau Plan [wikipedia.org], which was a primarily economic effort (which only lasted a few years) to "industrially disarm" Germany.
To the best of my knowledge, the primary reason for the stationing of US troops in Europe was to expand the US sphere of influence here (yes, I'm European) as a bulwark against the Soviets -- with whom relations were already beginning to deteriorate at the close of the war.
And no, I can't be bothered to dig up references for that, which I suppose makes me a hypocrite but hey, technically I should be working! :)
The Link (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Censorship set up? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you might need to loosen your tinfoil hat there a little bit buddy...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Right, because once e-mail filters out the messages there's absolutely no way for anyone to get information anymore. Well, except for websites, BBSes, Usenet, television, radio, telephone, letters...
Re: (Score:2)
According with Spamhaus [spamhaus.org] the top 10 countries the 1st one is US, then at 1/3-1/4 of that amount is china, then Russia, UK, etc. Would be interesting to see UN/US army invading those countries from 1st to last.