This article is more than 1 year old

Norton SystemWorks heisted for terror war spam scam

Shock and awe reaches junk mail

Spammers/scammers have reinvented irksome unsolicited emails promoting Norton SystemWorks to hype up the terror angle.

Al-Qaeda wants to root your machine so buy Norton SystemWorks from us at a knockdown price now, chirp the intrusive messages (example below).

These spam messages commonly promote either pirated software or attempt to get people to divulge their credit card details to sites run by fraudsters. They don't come from Symantec or its legitimate partners.

That said the emails do nothing to enhance Symantec's reputation. Some Internet users express frustration that the company isn't doing enough to stamp out the problem. This is possibly slightly unfair because Symantec is, through piracy, one of the main victims of the scam.

So how common is the Norton SystemWorks spam scam? Extremely prevalent, evidence suggests.

According to spam filtering firm Brightmail, Anti-virus software spam was the most common form of unsolicited email last year.

Brightmail doesn't break this figure down by product, but our own experience suggest spams about Norton AntiVirus 2003 and Symantec's Norton SystemWorks PC utility suite are by far the most common.

If anything these messages are increasing in frequency. One Reg staffer has received 16 Norton SystemWorks emails this month, and he's far from alone. (Stop whining and just delete them, John - Ed)

It's completely tiresome and the latest emails, adding a terror spin to mix, irritate us all the more. (I've told you once - Ed)

On a related, though slightly brighter, note the Centre for Democracy & Technology this week published a paper looking into the vexed question "Why Am I Getting All This Spam?". The study from CDT covers trends in spam over the last six months and tips for avoiding unsolicited commercial email.

Its basic advice is to avoid posting email addresses on Web sites or newsgroups and to use a filter, which is all pretty obvious, but its stats are quite interesting. ®

From: horridspammer@horridspammer.biz
Sent:
To:
Subject: FWD: Global War on Computers - Terrorists

Experts Warn that millions of home & business computers may be exposed to a Major Terrorist Attack by Al-Quida or other Terrorist cells within the next few weeks if not NOW.

Various news organizations have debated the topic and only 1 solution has stood out from the rest...Integrated Advanced Software called NORTON SYSTEMWORKS PRO 2003

CLICK HERE NOW
[REMOVED]

We are offering an amazing deal on this software to protect the Billions
exposed to this potential attack.

A $300.00+ Combined Retail Value for Only $39.99! FREE SHIPPING

Some indications that your system may be under attack:
-slow performing system
-internet speed is slow
-programs don't respond
-NO CHANGE

Do your part in homeland security by protecting & increasing your PC's performance.

CLICK HERE NOW
[REMOVED]

to unsubscribe click here:
[REMOVED]

Related Stories

Septic tank spam - the 419 de nos jours?
We hate Spam (email your friends)
Where the heck is all this spam coming from?
Messenger Pop-up Spam makes us sick
Spammers break law with covert tracking
Europe bans spam
IETF aims to can spam

External Links

Debunking the Osama bin Laden virus threat

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like