Social Network Spam
Social network spam , also known as social spam , is spam directed at the users of a social network service on the Internet such as MySpace , Facebook , Who-knows-who or LinkedIn . Users of these social network services can send each other messages that contain embedded links that can lead to other places on the social network or even to external sites.
Essence
This is the gateway used by social network service spammers. They use the social networking service's search tools to get to a specific demographic subset of users. Shared fan pages or fan groups are another filtering option for sending messages that pretend they come from a real person. These messages usually contain embedded links to pornographic or other websites that are designed to sell any product or service.
Turning off such unwanted social network service spam is difficult. Most services have a function in which spam can be reported or accepted, but these often change their throw- away address , so that a filter rule usually has no consequences.
Some of the social networking services even ask users for permission to access their address books and contact lists, or use email invitations so they can distribute virus-like products , or encourage their members to do so. This procedure is very controversial because it only gets the permission of the owner of that address book, but not the permission of the owner of the email addresses it contains. This confusing situation is exacerbated by users who mostly the small print or the terms and conditions do not read to find out what this permission is used.
There are automated programs that look for profiles in social networking services that are publicly available. If you come across such an unprotected profile, ask to be contacted so that full access to the profile is possible, or you send a message, which often includes a link to a website with a request such as “Look, this is a hot photo of me “Contains. Such links can be used to infect the computer of the recipient of such spam e-mail.
Examples
Flood of spam over Quechup
The American social network service Quechup, for example, had this problem .
Quechup has been accused of abuse by many of its users . The essence of the service is hidden in the small print of the terms and conditions. The text that was part of the registration process contains at least one unclear explanation of the nature of the service. She fails to explain the consequences. This led to numerous complaints from network service subscribers who were keen to click without reading what the conditions of participation they were currently accepting.
Abuse via Facebook
Robert Norheim received an email from a friend he knew on Facebook, which was also sent to numerous other users of this social networking service. She was robbed while on vacation in London and now urgently needs $ 600 for the return flight. He transferred the money to her, but he had concerns. When asked, it quickly turned out that the said facts were bogus and the allegedly "help-seeking" friend knew nothing about "her" e-mail. The transfer could just be reversed.
Invitation spams via Lockerz
Access to the Lockerz social network service, which was launched in March 2009, is only available by invitation. That makes it look like an elite community. In reality, however, it is actually just another promotional gimmick, as members receive system-specific points (PTZ) for every successful invitation. For each friend referred you receive two points for which you can receive prizes. With this aggressive, very effective advertising method, the young platform developed an unbelievable presence within a very short time, while a flood of inquiries about Lockerz landed in forums and a flood of invitations on the e-mail servers.
Link spams via bum games
Pennergame is a satirical online browser game , which is nevertheless to be regarded as a social network due to the formation of gangs and which, according to " Google AdPlanner", is one of the 100 most popular sites on the German-speaking Internet and, according to the operator, has over 1.7 million accounts. Operators of websites with a public comment function criticize the spamming of referrer links by players. With every click on his link, the player receives virtual money.
See also
Web links
- Social networks: Spam bots evaluate social networks . News report in: c't magazine, September 15, 2009
- Social networks are attractive for spammers in tecchannel.de from June 19, 2009
- Spam King Wallace is subject to Facebook, $ 711 million fine . In: PCGames magazine, December 30, 2009
- Checking out special social network services on netzcheckers.net
- Spam profiles and fake user accounts
- Microsoft exchanges contact data with social networks on golem.de
- Xing wants to prevent data copying among members on golem.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Philipp Schaumann: Loss of privacy through the social network sites - 7. Social Networking Spam
- ↑ Saul Hansell Social network launches worldwide spam campaign (social network starts worldwide spam campaign) . In: New York Times , September 13, 2007
- ↑ Chris Hambly: Quechup And Mass Hysteria (Quechup and mass hysteria) ( Memento of the original on 5 October 2007 at the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , September 2, 2007
- ^ Social networks: attacks in the guise of friendship . In: Die Zeit , No. 31/2009
- ↑ Viral Marketing at its best: Lockerz.com ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Thread on computerbase.de and the decision of the admin to abort the thread due to abuse
- ↑ meedia.de
- ↑ pennergame.de statistics ( memento of the original from March 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Criticism in the Wikipedia article Pennergame
