October 07, 2008, 6:59 AM — Messenger spam started off with windows alerts being pushed to the surprised users desktops. Pop-ups would appear on user’s desktops with the advertisement information. Users would have no control and no ability to block or opt out, since they had not given permission in the first place.
How did it work? NetBIOS and RPC ports were left open, allowing spammers free access to systems, both home based or otherwise, and with the advent of broadband, thousands of advertising opportunities opened. Poorly secured network connections allowed access to the Windows Messenger service, a service originally designed for administrators to send messages to users about network related issues to be abused. Messages sent this way, would be nearly untraceable, anonymous and annoying.
Spam messages often included telephone numbers and web site addresses; however the original advertiser would not be blamed for the intrusion into user’s machines, since they would have outsourced the advertising to a spammer specializing in this space. Read the rest of this article
