Sometimes You have to Like AOL

AOL to Give Away Spammer's 2002 Porsche Boxster S
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/95-03302004-273576.html
NEW YORK - Finally, some payback for all that spam:

Although the company has previously won cash judgments and destroyed computers used in spamming, Boe said the latest case "represents us moving beyond that to the toys, the fruits of spam. We'll take cars, houses, boats, whatever we can find and get a hold of."

While AOL unleashes bucket loads of Newbies on the net (someone has to) and backs loser companies like Aluria, at least they are serious about spam.

I know saying that will get me plenty of hat email from list owners and admins who have gotten the silent drop from AOL. But I would hate to have to deal the level of spam they get everyday, if I had to, I imagine I would come up with some pretty draconian methods of blocking. And they are blessed with enough people who use their service that don't know better, and don't email is a sure thing.

Okay, so thinking about it I am not that hot on AOL, but I do love raffling off the spammers car.

Bluestream Media Sending Spam And Giving Away Emails

I received some spam from Bluestream Media, who of course doesn't actually spam, they only spam for other people or some BS like that. Okay sure...

But Bluestream is a great example of why spam is so bad. It is more that just the spam itself. Simply put, most spammers by there very nature are rude uncaring people. Case in point, Bluestream media.

They send me spam, and then let me see every other address they sent spam to.

How?

Using their handy removal link:
http://adtrack20.bsm-ddh04.net/tracking/cel.aspx?PEPSI=blue&TID=549&LID=1068&EID=42560924

You can see my email - not really, that is my email but it is not used for anything lately but getting spammed it seems. Now lets start changing some numbers. EID=42560924 sounds like email id to me. Figuring they make up the first number or so to make themselves look big, start changing numbers toward the end.

What do you see?

Other people's emails. Nice. No regards to anyones privacy, no intelligent system in place. This is the fallout of scumbags scamming. The data they collect, the data they use, they just throw around without a care.

Now of course Bluestream media will say they don't own the emails - this spam is for UniversalPromoUSA.com, Or the spammers free gifts direct. There is a list of most of their domains at the end of this article, you can add them to your filters. But it will only do so much since companies like Bluestream Media will just empower the spammer by sending the spam, then saying they didn't really send the spam because, they just send the emails... they have been wronged as well boo-hoo hoo.

This is where I would normally say something like, so why would a legit company use Bluestream Media? But there is already a built-in answer. They don't. So they spam other people's questionable promotions (I spoke with Universal Orlando who were pretty pissed by the wording of the page and email and the inference of their relationship with the spammer.) But to warn someone not to use Bluestream Media would be like warning a car thief not to buy his hacksaw from the local fence, because hey, he deals in stolen goods...

Is Can-spam broke? You bet it is. 10,000 shell companies all taking turns spamming the same offers can't be wrong...

www.Beeheard.com
www.Fgcdirect1.com
www.Fgcdirect2.com
www.Fgcdirect3.com
www.Fgcdirect4.com
www.Fgcdirect5.com
www.Fgcdirect6.com
www.Fgcdirect7.com
www.Fgcdirect8.com
www.Fgcdirect9.com
www.Freegiftdirect.com
www.Freegiftdirect1.com
www.Freegiftdirect10.com
www.Freegiftdirect2.com
www.Freegiftdirect3.com
www.Freegiftdirect4.com
www.Freegiftdirect5.com
www.Freegiftdirect6.com
www.Freegiftdirect7.com
www.Freegiftdirect8.com
www.Freegiftdirect9.com
www.Itsyouropinion.com
www.Loupine.com
www.Loupine.net
www.Surveysweepsusa.com
www.Universalpromousa.com
www.Voiceyourview.com
www.Pdatapartners.com
www.Pdatapartners1.com
www.Pdatapartners2.com
www.Pdatapartners3.com

Aplus.net - would you like fries with that domain?

Weren't you just thinking, "My whois record doesn't generate nearly enough spam for me. I wish an ICANN certified registrar upped the ante, and made my whois record really annoying to have filled with valid data by calling the number I have listed and trying to market me hosting and design services."

Don't worry, you have a Savior!

Aplus.net (ABACUS (which registers names under the www.names4ever.com) has come to the rescue! They have taken to calling newly registered domains, not registered by their ICANN certified service, but by any other registrar.

Scared you might not get called because you are on the national do not call registry? Don't worry! They ignore it! Scared you might not fit their profile in some other way? Don't worry, to quote their rep Abe on who they call, "just the english speaking ones".

So sorry, Señore, if you wanted to get unsolicited phone calls because a registrar decided to turn the whois databases into their personal marketing database, you are out of luck. The rest of us gringos will revel in our new found buddies who will call like clockwork once we register our new name.

Who could come up with such a scheme? Well according to account rep bazilt, it was the VP of sales, Mr. Michael Nieman or better to reach at: michaeln@aplus.net. Or really, fitting most of my reader's profiles - drunk on a tuesday night you can call 877-275-8763 for free.

According to bazlit, the account reps call from the whois records "because we are urged to do that". Nice!

But wait a minute, isn't aplus.net a C-net's editor choice? By gum you are right, it seems they have paid enough, excuse me, did I say that? Of course not, c-net editorial staff is beyond reproach, if they give their c-net editors pick seal, they must mean it... yeah thats the ticket.

So the Internet continues to go down the toilet thanks to scumbags like aplus.net, c-net doesn't bother to cover it and rewards it, and the governing body supposed to watch it does nothing.

Well golly gee, i am sure that won't encourage more people try and do it.

For added fun, when i originally posted about it on Webhostingtalk, this guy, Dunbar7376, tried to pretend to be an unconnected party and attacked me for my accusation. Of course, that little post on ICANN's message board shows he is more than a little connected.

But don't worry about the aplus employees. Another aplus.net employee who ventured out into web hosting talk to clear his company's name let it be known quite clearly, he would be okay. He was still on his Daddy's healthcare, so nothing could hurt him. I wonder if they hire a nanny to go around and burp the support staff?

So I have to ask, with such scummy tactics in play, why would you ever register a domain with names4ever.com? or buy hosting from aplus.net? Do you really think that people who behave like this in their sales division, aren't equally matched in support?

Hey sure, they call you when you register a name, but I bet their support is spot on! Sure, sure it is. After all they sell unlimited bandwidth accounts for only $9.95!. Last I heard, Yahoo bought two of these $9.95 accounts for redundancy and are running all their bandwidth through them, because if they say unlimited bandwidth they must mean it!!!

Really, at this point I am wondering if aplus.net is trying to set some record with the FTC. And while all of this is funny, it really isn't. If aplus.net has called you contact ICANN and your own registrar. If you are on the national do not call registry, and they called, you can file a report here.

And always, you can contact aplus.net at 877-275-8763 and ask Michael Nieman what he was thinking.

Everything is fun.

We are now at the mercy of large corporations testing the new can-spam law (or as I like to call it the Can The California Law tough on Spam Law).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46048-2004Mar10.html

Go Microsoft go!?!? How is that for some mixed emotions?

Of course then there is AOL with their new spyware stopper in AOL 9.0 from Aluria. Why is this the chicken guarding the hen house? Jamie Garrison, the president of Aluria once threatened to personally expose me on a forum where giving out other site owner's URL is a bannable offense.

So Ms Garrison was willing to throw out all that privacy stuff because I laughed her acting ceo/president Missy Ward and her lead tech for their outlandish claims. According to the s-m-r-t people who run Aluria, cookies from one domain can be read by any other domain, and this classic from their head tech - "one pixel gif can be used to steal a computer user's entire e-mail address book "

TERROR TERROR FLEE!!!!!!

Yay! AOL hired stupid to watch the barn door.

And all these adaware companies are in an arms race of stupid. To battle each other and find the most spyware, they keep expanding the criteria for spyware. Pretty soon as soon as you turn on your PC it will explode for your protection.

A little tip, not all cookies are bad.

And if you use AOL. Dump the Aluria based software and try something from a company that doesn't think it has to make outlandish claims to scare you into use it. (PS. Aluria, don't even bother with the threatening letter, we both no everything I said is well documented - if any press wants to pick it up and run with what nitwits Aluria is - please email me at chet at poe-news dot com.).

In case you are wondering who to trust, I cannot praise enough Andrew Clover and his site Doxdesk. Someone should give Andrew a million dollars so he can update his tests more often.

He is the one who pointed out this lovely bit.

Searchking used to offer a linkable script for webmasters to disable eZula on their site. Seems they decided the only fair thing to do for offering this was to not make it pop ads on your site. And according to Andrew they replaced the script with a new one that... (I quote him since he is much smarter than me.)

Which opens pop-up ads from X10, and, the last time I tried it, attempted to drive-by-install some kind of spyware ("ClearStream Accelerator" - I haven't investigated this one yet). To add insult to injury it doesn't even bother try to stop TopText any more.

Lovely.

Ezula is software that "empowers" end users to see more ads, ads on everything. Because really, what is more empowering than seeing an ad everywhere you look?

Isn't the Internet fun?

Everyone Read

Your admin did not just send you an attachment. Your email account is not being suspended. There is no alert on your account. Blah Blah Blah.

NO RANDOM PERSON IS SENDING YOU AN ENCRYPTED ZIP FILE.

YOUR CREDIT CARD IS NOT BEING CANCELED.

THOSE ARE NOT NAKED PHOTOS OF ANYONE YOU KNOW.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CONFIRM ANYTHING.

NO ONE ACCIDENTALLY SENT YOU A ZIP FILE FILLED WITH SECRET INFO.

DO NOT CLICK ON THAT ATTACHMENT.

STOP.

STOP.

STOP.

No, you don't have a virus. No, your mail server does not have a virus. Some other idiot fell for it, he has your address in his cache or address book, so they are sending you the virus. Don't bother your admin about it, don't open it, don't do anything but delete it.

PLEASE!!!!

Passion Of the Spam

Not content to advertise the movie based on the final brutal 12 hours of Christ's life in classy places like the hood of NASCAR racers, ICON films has expanded their marketing reach. Joining such well respected products as penis enlargers and black market Viagra, The Passion of Christ is coming to spam filled mailbox near you.

While Jesus threw out the money lenders, The Passion's marketers jumped right in by having the official licensed trinkets sold by well known spammer DirectResponse.com a (I am basing my calling directresponse.com spammers by their history of spamming). But like all good spammers, they try and hide their tracks. While the email did not come from them, it came from dailydealdepot.com, but it was for a site directresponse.com owns and the removal list was a site listed in the email is owned by them as well. So why have dailydealdepot.com send the spam? That is so they can have enough plausible deniability to make Judas blush.

Does Icon films approve? Who knows, it says these are officially licensed products and directresponse handles all the order. Maybe Mel can do some wacky out-takes from Passion of the Christ and throw in some tie-ins for Passion of the Spam? Everybody loves Mel's antics in the outtakes for the Lethal Weapon Movies!

I wonder what is Aramaic for "Just Hit Delete!"

While I will be amused when Burger King has Passion of the Christ Chocolate shakes, "Christ may have died for your sins, but he lived for our chocolate shakes!" I am not amused that Mel and company have taken it upon themselves to spread the word of Christ by selling cheap trinkets by spamming. So check your mail, amidst penis enlargers and Viagra, there is a new product, Passion of the Christ nail pendants. All I want to know is, how long do I have to wear this pendant before my penis starts growing?

Chet
Note: I am not mocking the film, I am not commenting on the film, I am merely commenting on their choice to market trinkets in such a manner. I would have thought Mel and company would have been a little more selective in how they allowed and who they allowed to market their trinkets.