Box of Meat

Exact Target: Do consumers hate email append?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:05:10 -0700

Exact Target: Do consumers hate email append?:

“Seriously, can somebody explain to me, why would you ever engage in a marketing practice that is going to upset a good 50% of the people who end up on your list?”

FBI: Online Banking Attacks Reach $100 Million Mark

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:02:00 -0700

FBI: Online Banking Attacks Reach $100 Million Mark:

“…the typical scenario involves the victims receiving a phishing e-mail with an infected attachment or malicious link. If the recipient falls for the trick, they end up downloading a key logger that swipes their business or corporate bank account credentials. The thieves then create another user account with the stolen data and begin transferring funds via traditional wire transfers and ACH transfers while pretending to be the legitimate user.”

Technology Liberation Front: Google’s Privacy Dashboard: Another Major Step Forward in User Empowerment & Transparency

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:10:50 -0700

Technology Liberation Front: Google’s Privacy Dashboard: Another Major Step Forward in User Empowerment & Transparency:

‘Google’s announcement of its Privacy Dashboard…is a major step forward in both informing users about what data Google has tied to their account in each of Google’s many products and in empowering users to easily manage their privacy settings for each product. If users decide they’d rather “take their ball and go home,” they can do that, too, by simply deleting their data.’

All Spammed Up: ICANN move contributing to URL spoofing?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:09:49 -0700

All Spammed Up: ICANN move contributing to URL spoofing?:

“With the addition of International Domain Names, which ICANN will be expanding next year, phishers found another way to disguise their spoofing by taking advantage of similarities between some of the characters in foreign and Latin alphabets. What makes that approach superior to other typographic tricks is that a target may have no way of knowing that he or she is headed to a spoofed address. That’s because in certain fonts foreign characters look like Latin characters.”

Seth's Blog: The unclicking 84%

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:08:49 -0700

Seth's Blog: The unclicking 84%:

“…all of the clicks for all the ads online come from only 16% of the surfers, and most of them come from just 4% of all internet users.”

ExactTarget: Real Email Threat #3: Lax Permission

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:04:50 -0700

ExactTarget: Real Email Threat #3: Lax Permission:

“The issue of permission presents one of the greatest threats to the future of email marketing. …consumers want greater control over email. They want control over SPAM, they want to be able to unsubscribe from email more easily, and they want greater control over the frequency of commercial email coming to their inboxes. …The belief that marketers can send email to their customers based on a ‘prior existing relationship’—the premise for email appends—is dead. Customers don’t want the practice to continue.”

SFGate: Internet gear isn't isolating us, study says

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:04:52 -0700

SFGate: Internet gear isn't isolating us, study says:

“Fears that the Internet and other personal technologies are making Americans socially isolated are unfounded…people who use the Internet, instant messaging, mobile phones, photo sharing sites and social networks benefit from being more likely to have a larger, more diverse core of close confidants.”

Word to the Wise: Senders need to take responsibility

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:04:56 -0700

Word to the Wise: Senders need to take responsibility:

“…senders need to stop waiting for the ISPs to define good practices. Senders need to implement standards and good practices just because they’re good practices, not because the ISPs are dictating the practices. Senders need to stop customers from doing bad things, and dump them if they won’t stop. Senders need to stop relying on ISPs for specific answers to why mail is being blocked. Senders need to take responsibility for the mail going across their networks.”

Advertising Age: Latest Ad Scammers: Faux Ad Agency Execs

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:03:06 -0700

Advertising Age: Latest Ad Scammers: Faux Ad Agency Execs:

“Ads have long been a gateway for spammers and hackers to distribute malicious code, but now the crooks are showing a new level of sophistication by posing as agency executives walking right into the front doors of well-known publishers.”

Red Pill Email: An Underpants Gnomes View of Email Marketing

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:12:53 -0700

Red Pill Email: An Underpants Gnomes View of Email Marketing

Digital Copyright Canada: Debate on spam became innovation agenda discussion

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:07:51 -0700

Digital Copyright Canada: Debate on spam became innovation agenda discussion:

“We laugh about the silly and stupid things we come across in spam day after day, but we need to see the effect that it is having in terms of not just our ability to do our work but the very nature of the threat it is posing to average citizens. Spammers are very tied into a growing level of Internet fraud. They undermine confidence. We do not want to go to a website and leave our email information, because we do not want it to be taken and misused.

If we do not have confidence, it undermines our ability to move forward.”

(via CAUCE)

Mike Moran in Internet Evolution: The Internet Has Sent Marketing Back to Its Roots

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:05:57 -0700

Mike Moran in Internet Evolution: The Internet Has Sent Marketing Back to Its Roots:

“Lots of pixels have been spilled discussing how marketers can adapt to the new world order that the Internet has ushered in. But we have spent relatively little time noticing the changes in the rest of marketing.”

A VC: The Double Opt-In Introduction

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:04:09 -0700

A VC: The Double Opt-In Introduction:

“When introducing two people who don’t know each other, ask each of them to opt-in to the introduction before making it.”

Washington Post Security Fix: What Windows Autorun Has Wrought

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:16:57 -0700

Washington Post Security Fix: What Windows Autorun Has Wrought:

“As a feature first introduced way back in Windows 95, Autorun had…well, a pretty good run, particularly considering how long malware has used it as a propagation method. Frankly, I’m surprised that Microsoft kept Autorun as the default option for as long as it did….”

How To Use An Apostrophe

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:15:52 -0700

How To Use An Apostrophe:

A simple, useful primer on how to get your punctuation’s right.

Word to the Wise: I need IP addresses for reputation

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:14:57 -0700

Word to the Wise: I need IP addresses for reputation:

“Reputation is tied to sending IP address, but receiving ISPs aren’t stupid and do recognize attempts to game the system. …The bad customers will drag your reputation as an ESP down more than the good customers will pull it up.”

Jart Armin in Internet Evolution: Terror Attacks Now Funded Mostly by Online Fraud

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:13:53 -0700

Jart Armin in Internet Evolution: Terror Attacks Now Funded Mostly by Online Fraud:

“Fraud, and Internet fraud in particular, is increasingly used as a source of funding for terrorists, as traditional supply routes from donors are squeezed by tighter regulations….”

Washington Post Security Fix: Uptick in 'money mule' scams

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:12:53 -0700

Washington Post Security Fix: Uptick in 'money mule' scams:

‘The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is warning financial institutions about an uptick in scams involving unauthorized funds transfers from hacked online bank accounts to so-called “money mules,” people hired through work-at-home scams to help cyber criminals overseas launder money.’

The article goes on to explain exactly how this works, with detailed examples.

Email Service Guide: Protect Yourself Against Phishing

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:11:14 -0700

Email Service Guide: Protect Yourself Against Phishing:

“As fraudulent email scams become more sophisticated, the average user must become proactive regarding their online security. Armed with common sense and the knowledge of what you should be looking out for, anyone can learn to avoid phishing scam and protect themselves from becoming another victim.”

This is one of the best articles I’ve seen on the subject.

Spamhaus Blog: Some Good News From Downunder

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:09:12 -0700

Spamhaus Blog: Some Good News From Downunder:

“Two New Zealanders…have been fined for their roles in the biggest pharmaceutical spamming operation in the history of the internet…. The operation paid affiliates around the world to send spam emails marketing Herbal King, Elite Herbal and Express Herbal branded pharmaceutical products….”