Spam on the internet is a funny thing. It is brute-force marketing combined with con artist trickery designed for the sole purpose of getting a click-through. Sometimes the whole thing is a scam to try and get your money. Other times there is a computer virus in wait for you to open a security hole. And like it or not, in some cases it is just a low-budget (and sleazy) way for actual companies with actual products to get to you. The sad part is, if it wasn’t for the fact that spam messages are so numerous and annoying, they can actually be quite amusing.
What started out as simple email has gotten much more sophisticated. Email addresses get spidered off websites. Pop-up ads multiply. New MySpace friend requests turn out to just be porn in disguise. Forums get bombarded with fake posts. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, even blogs and web pages that accept user input can fall victim to spam. If you ever wonder why I require registration or approval to comment on this site (for the 3 people reading) then let me give you a basic example.
Comment: BUY VIAGGRA FOR DICK LONG!! LADIES SAY YES!!
Cute. But let’s face it people, no matter how much we may all want dick long, we’re pretty desensitized to this type of spam. What is a poor peddler of unsolicited junk to do? Well, first off, the poor English skills need to start getting fixed. But digging deeper into the spammer’s bag of tricks, one sees the need to blend in.
Comment: Thanks for the interesting information.
From: BUY VIAGRA NOW!!!
Ha ha! Well, it’s great to see them give it a try, anyway. What I absolutely love are the times the select few go the extra mile and give 110%, and other work-ethic metaphors. This is what a kind reader posted about my Barbeque Pizza observations.
Comment: Hi, Congratulations to the site owner for this marvelous work you’ve done. It has lots of useful and interesting data.
From: <insert spam link here>
Priceless.