Spam is something that we see on a daily basis. Everyday thousands of unwanted e-mails arrive to our mailboxes. We have seen them in all kind of flavours. Plain text, html, instant messaging, images, pdf, even in MP3. Users are able to learn, so usually when we know that a message is spam, we don’t even open it. That’s why the spammers have to think up new techniques, not only to circumvent the spam filters, but the own user’s capabilities to recognize spam.
Nowadays, the use of the social networks and web 2.0 sites is really popular, so the spammers are trying to adjust their techniques; some of them, even if they’re not that smart, at least are something new worth mentioning, so we can learn and avoid to fall in some of them.
I will show you how they are using Twitter and Youtube to distribute spam. First, they will retweet (resend messages in Twiter) any message, adding a link. They will usually use a URL shortener, such as bit.ly, both to make it shorter and to obfuscate the destination. Once you click on the link, you are redirected to Youtube.
I know that here is when I should say that this is a fake site that asks you to install some kind of codec to watch the video… but no, this is not the case, we are in the real Youtube watching a real video. And what is the video about? Well, as you can see is the spam message recorded in a video and uploaded to Youtube:
If you go to the advertised website, you’ll see this:
Of course, they want to make you rich, but if you scroll downd you’ll find out that first you have to pay £39.95 for the software that will let you know all the secrets… sure.
Thanks to @fernandot for the heads up.
Panda Security specializes in the development of endpoint security products and is part of the WatchGuard portfolio of IT security solutions. Initially focused on the development of antivirus software, the company has since expanded its line of business to advanced cyber-security services with technology for preventing cyber-crime.
