S.P.A.M or Spammed Persistently All Month. This is the project name for an experiment that McAfee launched, which tracked fifty people around the globe who surfed online for thirty days with no protection. By taking part in the experiment, participants visited places online where most users would never go. McAfee’s aim was to discover how much spam they would attract and what the effects would be.
McAfee posts the results of their S.P.A.M. experiment.(IMG:J.Anderson)
Each of the fifty people who took part kept online journals detailing their experience. (http://www.mcafeespamexperiment.com/us/) Having studied the daily posts and analyzed the spam itself, McAfee researchers confirm that spammers are as active as ever.
McAfee noticed a trend where spammers are using psychological tricks to lure users to part with contact details, identity information, and cash. The results show that spam continues to evolve, utilizing more local languages and cultural nuances, as well as becoming much more targeted in a bid to avoid detection.
“I suppose the most surprising thing about the whole Spam Experiment experience was actually how difficult it is to track spam; once it starts coming, it seems that there’s very little rhyme or reason to the influx. Figuring out who shares with who is nearly impossible – at least for the victim (I’m hoping McAfee figures something out!),” Evan, one of the participants wrote on April 30th.
“This is it - it’s the end of the line for our 30 day project. What have I learned? There is no such thing as “FREE” If it sounds to good to be true -IT REALLY IS. When a site warns you in red letters before you get on that it is probably a bad idea to click on any links, you should probably STAY AWAY. NEVER, EVER, EVER give out your personal information to an unsolicited site (and be very careful when dealing with sites that you solicited); and I sound more and more like my mother every day,” Karen wrote on her final day in April.
The patterns to the posts online made by those who took part mostly follow the same shock. They were each given tasks to perform, and while all of them knew it was wrong and dangerous, the experience opened their eyes to exactly how bad it can get.
Many of the spam messages received were Phishing e-mails, other e-mails carried viruses and many allowed Malware to be silently installed on the computers by persuading participants to surf unsafe sites. A number of participants noted a decrease in their computers' processing speeds, as well as an increased number of pop-ups.
"Many of our participants noticed that their computers were slowing down, which means that while they were surfing, unbeknownst to them, websites were installing Malware," said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs. "In just 30 days there was quite a noticeable change in the system performance of their computers. Notably showing just how much Malware was being installed without their knowledge. Spam is much more than a nuisance; it's a very real threat."
The most popular subject received was financial spam. For example, pre-approved loans or credit card offers were common, which may be symptomatic of spammers taking advantage of the current personal finance climate and global credit crunch.
"The McAfee S.P.A.M. Experiment proves to us that even though people think they know the dangers of spam, they don't understand the true extent. Our participants came from all walks of life, from all over the world and, given their interest to take part in the experiment, they were well aware of the problem. Despite this, they were all shocked by the sheer amount of spam they attracted in such a short timeframe and the lengths the spammers would go to in order to achieve success,” Dave DeWalt, chief executive officer and president of McAfee said.
The online journals are both humorous and informative. If you get some free time this holiday weekend, check them out.
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