Christine Hall has left the building

[Alan Perkins]

Hi all

It is my said duty to report that Christine Hall has moved on from my favourite spammer. Welcome in her place Vanessa Lintner. The spammer has also changed their name. Maybe, ultimate irony, one spammer has blatantly copied the sales tactic of another. Anyway, here's the template:

Hello,

I have visited {client domain removed} and noticed that your website is not listed on some search engines. I am sure that through our service the number of people who visit your website will definitely increase. {spammer name removed} is a unique technology that instantly submits your website to over 500,000 search engines and directories -- a really low-cost and effective way to advertise your site. For more details please go to {spammer domain removed}.

Give your website maximum exposure today!
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,
Vanessa Lintner
Sales & Marketing
{spammer domain removed} {screenshot of client site removed}

I get 16 copies of this every so often. It is very well worded. BUT (I doubt) Vanessa Lintner really exists, no (human) visit to the client site has been done, no search engine has been checked, exactly the same e-mail has been sent to every Web site. That's why this spam is so clever - despite the total deception, it tunes in instantly to a wide range of people who think they have a problem with search engines. And the little screen shot of their own site is a killer!

[Hope]

Where did she find 500,000 search engines and directories? I have gotten this email at work. Somehow they actually found my email address. There are over 400 people who work here and I was singled out. Ok, so maybe not singled out. I know, probably 300 people here got the email.

I laugh every time I get one of these. I love it when they are delivered to my hotmail or yahoo mail accounts. Of course me site isn't listed in the search engines, I don't have a personal site.

I have gotten similar emails as long as I have been online (1994). I would love to know how many people are actually falling for this information. Maybe we should set up a huge site that points out all these spams and how they can ruin your chances of actually getting a good placement in the search engines and directories. We can't forget to let everyone know there are NOT 500K search engines and directories.

[ihelpyou]

Alan, did that email give a Url? If so, maybe JuniorHarris will hammer the site with his robot for awhile?

I have received that same email countless times. Christine Hall included.

[Alan Perkins]

Hope, this is that site!

Doug, Read my thoughts on Junior's Hammer (http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/t1020/s.html#post14101)

[ihelpyou]

Yes, but we can reserve the "hammer" to the spammers who are consistent and oh such an annoyance. Filters are great as I use them lots. Spammers will keep changing addresses and deleting them to move to another. Filters do help but the problem is huge.

[JuniorHarris]

Well let me say I usually reserve the "hammer" for only those that deserve it!~ Typically I will only target those spammers who try to be tricky by disabling right-click, use frame sets to hide source, and especially for those who use encrypted JavaScript.

As Doug says, filters may help, but they always seem to find a way through...my email is already slow enough, due to the lengthy filter list it has to process now. In a few more years we will all need Cray super-computers just to process our filter list!~ :shocked:

[MazY]

LOL I too remember receiving that very same e-mail last week. I find it quite funny.

What strikes me as really funny about it is that they clearly never ever visit the sites that they so kindly "snapshot". I look forward to receiving it each few weeks for the comedy value.

[Alan Perkins]

Have you had the one with the magnets? LOL!

If you want more spam, Maz, highman knows where you can sign yourself up for it ... or he'll do it for you, if you like.

[MazY]

Magnets? No! Hell I feel duped!

You mean I am not worthy of the magnet spam? The cheek of it....

Somewhat bizarrely perhaps, I am quite tolerant of "spam e-mail".

I have even been known to find something of interest from more than one previously unwelcome e-mail. But then I do have a bizarre sense of humour that can laugh at the most odd things in life!

[Hope]

I normally just toss spam before even opening it up. On occassion I take a look. I look at the "search engine submission" ones all the time. They are just amusing.

I have to admit, that I purchased a holiday package from spam. It came in at the same time as I was looking for information for my summer holiday. It arrived, I opened it and it was almost too good to be true. The price was about half of what I was finding elsewhere.

After about 3 weeks of research I found that the company was respectible. I booked the trip and had a great time. I guess spam has it's place. After all I save $2,000 on a holiday.

Heidi

[highman]

>If you want more spam, Maz, highman knows where you can sign yourself up for it ... or he'll do it for you, if you like.


Just give me the nod....

We should collect a weekly list 'this weeks winning spammers' then submit the list once a week to all the FFA's and 10 trillion SE's out there

What you think?

[fixato]

Anyone know how I can retrieve the ISP of TrafficMagnet?
I think I will be taking serious actions against this company!
I discovered that this christinehall@trafficmagnet is a real issue online! Do a simple search on christine hall on google.com and you receive dozens of sites discussing this issue.
for example: dotecafe.net/spamrants.htm

Well, please let me know you I can easy retrieve their CURRENT ISP..

[ihelpyou]

Welcome to the forums fixato! :hi:

Won't do you any good unfortunately. That gal has been spamming on the net for Years. She does not exist by the way.

I just look at email subjects and filter and auto delete. That's all. You can try to do something but you only get more spam daily so it is kind of futile to try. I get about 200 spam emails a day and just hit delete.

Also, as far as I know, trafficmagnet is own their own server. That is why they stay online.

[fixato]

Thx,
just found some more info...
check nodomain.com

[TravelNow]

I do actually enjoy reading many of these. I replied to my first yesterday because it made me laugh out loud. I was sent a guarentee that this site would get me ONE YAHOO LISTING (yes, in caps). They went on to tell me that that meant when someone went to yahoo my one lsting would show up in the search results.

That might be a great idea- except that they sent it to a personal site that already has two free Yahoo listings - so for a low fee I could go down to only one listing in the results-what a deal!

:rolleyes:

[Blue]

Welcome to the forums fixato! :hi:

[kneelsit]

:hi:
Welcome to the forums Fixato.

Seems like we may all have to start putting ALL our email addresses up in code (which I now have to do to protect my customers)
(I assume you have a website F?)

If you email me I will send it to you.

[bigDugan]

These spammers have hit thousands of "posts" on the net as well as continue to send out spam email. There is NO WAY to contact them, none of their email address are NOT valid. The site is registered in .CN (China).

Who in their right mind would use these fools, when there is no way to even contact them?

Here is my code for my Anti-Spammer Hammer. You are welcomed to copy the code and use it for ANY spammer, including TrafficMagnut.

The Anti-Spammer Hammer is a very simple frames based tool and contains two files: the Header and the Body.

The header just contains a "title frame" for your Anti Spammer Hammer: (anit-spam.htm)

<html>
<head>
<TITLE></TITLE>
<body>
<center>
<table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="middle">
<font face="verdana" size="1" color="black">SPAM BUSTER</font><br>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</body>
</html>

The body frame (trafficmagnut.htm) contains the meat of the Anti-Spammer Hammer.

<html>
<head>
<TITLE>Spammer Hammer</TITLE>
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="00; url=trafficmagnut.htm">
</head>
<frameset
rows="20,100,100,100,100,100,100,100,100,100,100,100"
frameborder="0" border="0">
<noframes>
<body>
<center>
</noframes>
<frame name="header" src="anti-spam.htm" marginheight="0"
marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0">

<!-- Insert the URL of the SPAMMER you wish to HAMMER below,
then cut and paste the entire line about 20 times -->

<frame name="1"
src="https://secure.trafficmagnet.net/index_other2new.php?keyword1=SCUM_SUCKING_SEADOGS"
marginheight="3" marginwidth="0" frameborder="0">

</frameset>
</html>

You'll want to replace the URL in the above file with ANY URL you like, but be sure to cut and paste it about 20 times for increased effectiveness. Also, if you change the name of the file "trafficmagnut.htm", make sure you update the meta tag refresh command with the name that you changed it to.

Just save it to your local hard drive and run from there. I use several dozen versions, one for each spammer I wish to hammer.:D

[MakeMeTop]

Simple, clean, efficient - I love it :)

[JuniorHarris]

Sweet!~:D

Looks a bit more efficient then mine...but if the Hammer fits!~;)

[bigDugan]

Looks a bit more efficient then mineI doubt that! ;)

[JuniorHarris]

That may be true!~:o:

I'm still looking for a hammer with a big claw to yank the bas-tards through the net!~;)

[bigDugan]

I figure if we get enough people using hammers, maybe we can beat them back under the rock in which they crawled out of!!! 8)

[JuniorHarris]

If not we could use the rocks to stone them!~;)

[bigDugan]

You know my motto, "The only good spammer is a DEAD spammer!"
:eek:

[Advisor]

Originally posted by bigDugan
You know my motto, "The only good spammer is a DEAD spammer!"
:eek: Don't you think that's a wee bit drastic? :(

What's that hammer thing do anyway? I'm too dumb to be able to tell by looking at it!

J

[JuniorHarris]

>You know my motto, "The only good spammer is a DEAD spammer!"

A bit drastic, but Junior likes!~:D

>What's that hammer thing do anyway?

It loads the spammers page over and over again, it loads the spammers page over and over again, it loads the spammers page over and over again, it loads the spammers page over and over again!~;)

[bigDugan]

Don't you think that's a wee bit drastic?Not at all!

Of course I'm speaking figuritively, meaning DEAD as in NO MORE spam, ie: the spam is dead.

Death to all spam.

[bigDugan]

I think if we all got together and ran these anti-spammer hammers on these fools, we'd form a DNS attack that would virtually shut the spammers down and render them inoperable.

Anyone that has to use such tactics, surely isnt even worth giving the light of day to.

They have to spam because THEY dont KNOW what they are doing, and cannot make an HONEST living.

I dont spam, because I DONT have too, I do just fine.

[fixato]

Originally posted by Blue
Welcome to the forums fixato! :hi:

Thx for the welcoming :)

I do have a website, you can find it on fixato.nl
Please do not hammer it :) It tends to get a headache :D
btw, there is not much on it yet, but you can check out my other site msx-xpress.fixato.nl

I will try the hamemrcode myself soon for 2 of my favorite spammers:
trafficbbs and trafficmagnet

Hey are they related??? :)

Well, cya soon

[bigDugan]

Please do not hammer it lol. no, no, we only use the hammer on spammers!!!

Yes, TrafficMagnet is ACTUALLY the one I was talking about, I just like to call them TrafficMagnUt, cause you'd be NUTS to use them! :p

Thats the other part of that hammer, that I think could be interesting....
You overload the spammers site with this DNS attack, and then report their "dead" links to the SEs for removal! :D

[highman]

hehe...... guess who is hammer building tonight :D

Look out you spammers......

[bigDugan]

>guess who is hammer building tonight

Anti-Spammers unite!!!

[JuniorHarris]

Gotta love it!~;)

[highman]

lol...... 8 hours with 30 urls on a page, meta refresh of zero on a T1 connection, lets hope that cost them a dollar or two

[bigDugan]

>lets hope that cost them a dollar or two
Why not, they cost us by taking away our valuable time and resources. If enough of us hammer them, I sure it's gonna cost them something. But even if it doesnt, it still makes ME feel better!
:D
Hammer on my good [high]man!

[highman]

eye eye captain!

multiple hammers syncronised for launch

launching hammers - destination spam city

hammmers in action - using all bandwidth on T1 connection


now off to the pub while the hammers work on :D

[bigDugan]

I've also blocked all email from TrafficMagnut's netblock: 211.101.236.0 - 211.101.236.255

[bigDugan]

Full anti-spam power scotty.....

I'm hammering her with all she's got captain...

:hit: :hit: :hit:

[JuniorHarris]

Aye Captain, I'm giving her all she's got!~

[Advisor]

Couldn't you get your own ISP Ip shut down for that, or do you have a way of blocking that?

Jill

[bigDugan]

>Couldn't you get your own ISP Ip shut down for that
If you are referring to the hammer, no I've never had any problems with it through any of my ISPs: Cable Modem, DSL, and Dial-up. There's no way to prevent this on a dynamic dial-up, without cutting everybody off!
;)

[Kal]

Umm sorry to be a downer on what is a touchy subject, but isn't what you're doing illegal? I mean couldn't this be seen as a Denial of Service attack? Or at least, as Jill said, frowned on by your ISP? I hate spam as much as the next person, but couldn't this backfire on you, not to mention take up valuable bandwidth across the Internet for the duration of your attack?

[ihelpyou]

I'm all for it. Hammer away, I say.

They are spammy, sleazy, slimey, ****ty, sites who SPAM us daily. They deserve what they get. :)

[bigDugan]

>what you're doing illegal
And what they are, isnt? I think we are both in the same grey area.
:angel:
>couldn't this be seen as a Denial of Service attack..take up valuable bandwidth
Thats the goal. Bandwidth costs. The spammer will have increased costs. Once they generate the attention of their ISP, and the ISP finds out they are spamming people and generating all this EXTRA traffic, hopefully they'll shut the site down-- and that will stop the traffic COLD.

What can I do if my PC has the HammerSpammer virus and I dont know it? And it's generating all these erroneous requests like the famed code red?

:hit: (Dang, 'puter-- what's wrong with you?) I think I got that dang virus when I visited this page (http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1026&perpage=20&pagenumber=1#post27535).

[kneelsit]

Hey Big Dugan if you are referring to those ##** porn sites that
gather up email addresses indiscriminately and then spew out their filth to innocent victims then I for one say GO FOR IT!!

I had one of my customers complain recently that he had been a victim and asked me to take down his email address because
somehow the spammers had identified the titles of the sites as well as the email addresses.

Since then ALL my email has been specially encoded to guard against any possible repetition. SO YEAAH - MORE POWER TO YOU!!!:D

[bigDugan]

No spammer is immune. Even these jerks TrafficMagnut. They email spam everyone, and then post spam every message board they find. They have NO VALID DNS records, or email addresses. What does THIS tell you? Yes, I do NOT place any emails on my sites, and when I do, I UNICODE (http://www.unicode.org/) them, to prevent email siphons.

[Advisor]

Apparently, Christine Hall is back in the building. I just received 3 emails to HighRankings.com from her. Just when I was begining to miss good old Christine...

J

[JuniorHarris]

The ironic issue here, is the spammers are no doubt abusing the system and are themselves consuming valuable bandwidth!~ Not only through email, but also with their nested and redirected web pages!~ Not to mention the email harvesters and other "tools" these limy cretins utilize!~

I used to report the spam, but found it to be a waste of valuable time. The hammer is much more effective at getting host providers to remove the home base of these spammers. I've had greater success at getting sites removed by simply hammering them in the ground!~ Gotta love it when the 404 shows up!~

[highman]

What, how dare she return!

right..... hammers to the bridge captain

[bigDugan]

>I just received 3 emails...from her
Isnt there a way you can block their email? I can block their entire netblock of 211.101.236.0 - 211.101.236.255 with a simple line in my /etc/mail/access file on Apache: 211.101 REJECT

I dont even see the email, and it doesnt even spool onto my server-- it is REJECTed and bounced back to them.

>Gotta love it when the 404 shows up!
Suh-weet Nectar!

[fixato]

Isn't there a way to use their server for the hammerservices? That way they will hammer themselves :hit: :->

Lolz
Maybe you can get a refresh tag inside a guestbook of them :>

Tha'll teach 'm!

I just hate mailing services who do not say for which site they work!!! those "executive39145@yahoo.com"-types!

[bigDugan]

>Maybe you can get a refresh tag inside a guestbook of them
...another fine mess you got me into ollie! thanks for the tip!
:cheers:

[bigDugan]

>That way they will hammer themselves
I like the way you think. Use their own evil powers against them. Classic.
:D

[Kal]

Ok OK! I'm convinced. Hammer away :D

[kneelsit]

Thanks for that tip and link to Unicode BigD. So that was where my SEO got it from :cool:

But ya know I really hate you - now I have a whole new lot of stuff to learn just to keep up to date --Sheesh.!! Don't you coders and programmers have any pity for us old geezers struggling along in your wake picking up the crumbs of knowledge you drop as you flash across cyberspace. :D

[bigDugan]

>struggling along in your wake picking up the crumbs of knowledge you drop as you flash across cyberspace
At least you have the internet, all we had in the old days was word of mouth and the BBSs.
:cool:

[MazY]

Sorry to be the old stick in the mud but having been a victim of a DOS attack, a little over a year ago, I'm not going to join the "Go for it" clan.

DOS is DOS, no matter what the motive. It's a pain in the ass, it's wrong and I'm amazed we're so openly condoning it!

Sorry, I'm just siding with Kal cos she has a three letter name. All the best people do! :)

Message Ends... Beeeeep.

[bigDugan]

>the spammers are no doubt abusing the system and are themselves consuming valuable bandwidth
I agree. If YOU were to stop this at the SOURCE, we wouldnt have any of this unnecessary traffic.

>It's a pain in the ass
Thats part of the goal too. Fact is, a lot of these spammers ARE shut done once the hammer starts to fall.

Two wrongs DONT make a right, but *I* have to make an exception here. If I am given two options: 1) Dont hammer, and the spammer continues or 2) Hammer, and the Spammer gets shut down, then I'll opt for the latter.

fixato I think has the right idea, use their own resources to shut themselves down. And if you can do it in such a way that generates no EXTRA bandwidth, by keeping the hammer local, then there is DEFINITELY no harm at all.

I fight fire with fire, so if they want to spam me-- they should be prepared to be spammed back with every weapon in my arsenal.

What's good for the goose, is good for the gander!
:cheers:

[Advisor]

As much as it pains me to agree with Maz ;) I'm definitely gonna agree on this one.

This is a thread on ethics for goodness sakes!

Jill

[MazY]

BG. I could get into a debate about what makes you any different to the original spammer once you start but I fear it would be a long drawn out affair with no real satisfaction for either party at the end.

If you argue they did it first, that's just numbers. If you argue that it's a case of an eye for an eye, then I would return with turn the other cheek, so we're on a loser methinks.

Bon chance...

[ihelpyou]

While I don't think hammering away at the spammers is a good answer, I do think that there needs to be an answer about how to get the spammers shut down.

That C. Hall person and site needs to be stopped and all the spammers out there need to be stopped.

I know that individual states are starting to adopt their own laws on the issue but it is a long drawn-out process. We all know how Congress does things in small baby steps.

Then to also stick in the 'all's fair in business advocates' peoples out there who seem would be satisfied to just as well leave the spammers alone, everything out there seems to be at a stand still.

[bigDugan]

>As much as it pains me to agree with Maz...a thread on ethics
Governments have to step below this grey ethics line at times, as do law enforcement agencies to accomplish their goals. If they have to step below this grey line to take out a notorious drug dealer or killer, would that be ok?

Truth is, I will continue to use any tools I have to combat the spammers IF they spam ME, but respect all opposing views. I'm not trying to force anyone to use a hammer like me, but they sure are welcomed to try one if they like. It just puts us on an even playing field.

They'll get my hammer, when they pry it out of my dead cold fingers.

8) (P-Diddy wouldnt bring a knife to a gunfight)

[bigDugan]

>everything out there seems to be at a stand still
It sure seems that way. Thats why I continue to use the hammer, and apparently not the only one. There are far brighter people out there than me. As JH says-- I've seen sites that I've hammered get shut down. (Maybe we've been hammering the same sites?) ;)

>all the spammers out there need to be stopped
I agree with this, and think everyone else but the SPAMMERS would agree that THE SPAM needs to be stopped.

The other problem are the big companies that are condoning the spam, by allowing the spammers to use their networks for their dastardly deeds, in exchange for cash monies in lieu of ethical morals.

Until another solution arises that solves the problem, I will continue to use these other proven methods.

[MakeMeTop]

Christine Hall has re-entered the building saying that MakeMeTop doesn't appear on search engines - duh!:confused:

[ihelpyou]

lol. yep. I received it yesterday.

[Advisor]

I get 'em every day. They are filtered to the delete folder with the rest of the spam.

J