Freethought & Rationalism Archive

sakrilege · 05-10-2003, 07:59 AM

From my inbox, these are actual unedited email subject lines...

Never Purchase Another DVD ixfjnbcocqfdaesyw

lig molyqdate yosl dycyos

culbertson bloodhhed ub oe wgdt

Hey there ba efpasc w pab n

phole boltin

Needless to say, I don't open these and they are promptly escorted to the Trash and deleted. But I do wonder how they get so garbled.

Speaking of spam, I use a cable provider for my internet connection and have an email account with that provider. I don't use that email account for anything since I have other email addresses and don't want to become dependent on any particular provider. But I do monitor that email account for notices from the provider. I get 80% of my spam from that email account. :banghead:

Hastur · 05-10-2003, 08:23 AM

They're garbled on purpose.

Most filters have actual words in them like 'sex', 'rich', 'fortune' etc.
Gibberish flies right through filters like that. Of course, the carbon-unit at the keys filters out the garbled ones, but their whole point is to make you deal with them personally.

The Other Michael · 05-10-2003, 08:29 AM

I have yet to figure out why they even bother sending out the stuff with the gibberish subject lines. Even at my most cynical, I have trouble believing someone will actually open something like "biofyzikalni addixeritis Read this " (pulled from my deleted folder).

cheers,
Michael

B34RZ0R · 05-10-2003, 08:53 AM

*ugh* the joys of electronic communication

Taken from one of my many hotmail accounts...

"naked dwarf tossing"

nuff said

Be Well
*Bear*

AquaVita · 05-10-2003, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by B34RZ0R

"naked dwarf tossing"

Uhm....could you foward that to me? It's just a thing I....nevermind

Treacle Worshipper · 05-10-2003, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by B34RZ0R
"naked dwarf tossing"

H'mmm... Are the dwarfs naked or the people tossing them?

For those who don't know: throwing short people up and down on a blanket is a time-homoured pastime in England. Usually all participants are fully clothed.

TW

Cofffee · 05-10-2003, 02:05 PM

I didn't get these type of garbled subjects before Mid-April 2003, so my guess is that some spam-sending software had an upgrade that included an option for gobbledegook mode.

It annoys me, but I get a small measure of satisfaction in that they had to obscure their message to such an extent in order for it to get through my filter. I think it will continue to get increasingly obscure until it is unintelligible giberish at which point it will no longer be viable.

I don't know why they don't add some kind of e-mail filtering function for subject lines that contain crap letters.

Here's a selection of the crap I get:

xsGett your deegree hereH
rnngGreeaat cameraeef
yoggFeel connffiidennt wwith youur weightippm

I should write my own spam-sending software that just pretends to send spam, but doesn't really do anything. I can see it now:
F R E E
M A S S
E - M A I L
S O F T W A R E.

Loren Pechtel · 05-10-2003, 06:43 PM

Popfile seems to do a pretty good job of nailing even the new ones. About the only ones that get through with any regularity at all are the ones that are simply an image, and they don't get through twice.

Secular Pinoy · 05-10-2003, 07:00 PM

Any suggestions on how to customize filters on Yahoo mail? What keyword on the subject or sender's domain name address would you filter off?

05-10-2003, 07:59 AM	#1
sakrilege Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Cleveland, OH, USA Folding@Home Godless Team Posts: 6,211	Spam and gobbledygook From my inbox, these are actual unedited email subject lines... Never Purchase Another DVD ixfjnbcocqfdaesyw lig molyqdate yosl dycyos culbertson bloodhhed ub oe wgdt Hey there ba efpasc w pab n phole boltin Needless to say, I don't open these and they are promptly escorted to the Trash and deleted. But I do wonder how they get so garbled. Speaking of spam, I use a cable provider for my internet connection and have an email account with that provider. I don't use that email account for anything since I have other email addresses and don't want to become dependent on any particular provider. But I do monitor that email account for notices from the provider. I get 80% of my spam from that email account. :banghead:

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05-10-2003, 08:23 AM	#2
Hastur Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Carcosa Posts: 238	They're garbled on purpose. Most filters have actual words in them like 'sex', 'rich', 'fortune' etc. Gibberish flies right through filters like that. Of course, the carbon-unit at the keys filters out the garbled ones, but their whole point is to make you deal with them personally.

05-10-2003, 08:29 AM	#3
The Other Michael Honorary Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In the fog of San Francisco Posts: 12,631	I have yet to figure out why they even bother sending out the stuff with the gibberish subject lines. Even at my most cynical, I have trouble believing someone will actually open something like "biofyzikalni addixeritis Read this " (pulled from my deleted folder). cheers, Michael

05-10-2003, 08:53 AM	#4
B34RZ0R Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lost in the Ether, Minnesota Posts: 1,436	ugh the joys of electronic communication Taken from one of my many hotmail accounts... "naked dwarf tossing" nuff said Be Well Bear

05-10-2003, 10:59 AM	#6
Treacle Worshipper Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Wales, UK Posts: 931	Originally posted by B34RZ0R "naked dwarf tossing" H'mmm... Are the dwarfs naked or the people tossing them? For those who don't know: throwing short people up and down on a blanket is a time-homoured pastime in England. Usually all participants are fully clothed. TW

05-10-2003, 02:05 PM	#7
Cofffee Regular Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pickering, ON, CA Posts: 447	I didn't get these type of garbled subjects before Mid-April 2003, so my guess is that some spam-sending software had an upgrade that included an option for gobbledegook mode. It annoys me, but I get a small measure of satisfaction in that they had to obscure their message to such an extent in order for it to get through my filter. I think it will continue to get increasingly obscure until it is unintelligible giberish at which point it will no longer be viable. I don't know why they don't add some kind of e-mail filtering function for subject lines that contain crap letters. Here's a selection of the crap I get: xsGett your deegree hereH rnngGreeaat cameraeef yoggFeel connffiidennt wwith youur weightippm I should write my own spam-sending software that just pretends to send spam, but doesn't really do anything. I can see it now: F R E E M A S S E - M A I L S O F T W A R E.

05-10-2003, 06:43 PM	#8
Loren Pechtel Obsessed Contributor Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Not Mayaned Posts: 96,752	Popfile seems to do a pretty good job of nailing even the new ones. About the only ones that get through with any regularity at all are the ones that are simply an image, and they don't get through twice.

05-10-2003, 07:00 PM	#9
Secular Pinoy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Quezon City, Philippines Posts: 1,994	Any suggestions on how to customize filters on Yahoo mail? What keyword on the subject or sender's domain name address would you filter off?

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