Spammers Use Google URLs in Spam to Trick People - 4,922 Views, 7 Comments
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There has been a recent increase in the number of spammers who are using Google URLs in their spam in an effort to trick people They way they do this is to camoflage their URL so that it looks like a Google URL. After all, nearly everyone knows, recognizes, and trusts Google. How sinister could clicking on something which appears to be a Google search result be? It’s that sort of thinking on which the spammers are relying. Here is an example of one Google-using spam making the rounds: “Mitchell voiced upon me that you unquestionabaly became aware http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thefavoriteavailable.org/ax/ that has been consulting me lose my gut.” Do you see that Googlfied URL in there?: http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thefavoriteavailable.org/ax/ To the average user, that looks pretty innocent. It looks like it will take you to a page of Google results. You may think that the sender is trying to suggest you Google them to see what folks are saying about them. But in reality, this is a Google redirect. If you were to click on that link, it would take you not to a Google page, but directly to the website located at “http://www.thefavoriteavailable.org/ax/”. To see this in action, try clicking on this one: http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theinternetpatrol.com/spammers-use-google-urls-in-spam. Go ahead, try it, it will just take you back here. Now you know. Don’t be fooled by this!
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Spammers Use Google URLs in Spam to Trick People
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Ya know, when I was talked into purchasing my first computer many years ago by my son, I was not concerned with viruses, trojan horses, phishing, spam, and ad nausium…I am pretty much house bound and the electronic age opened a whole new world to me. Now the first thing that I have do is to make sure all the back doors are closed, my threat levels are set to high, and I am seriously considering unplugging and tossing this computer into the recycling bin and going back to my newspapers, television, and snail mail…
Comment by Henry Dillenkofer — 8/24/2006 @ 12:14 pm
Comment for Henry: You can’t throw a computer into a recycle bin - and if you do - erase/remove the hard drive - or you will become victim of ID theft.
Comment by LJMercier — 8/24/2006 @ 1:22 pm
henry,
don’t scrap the computer, just get good security, i’m sure “aunty” has some suggestions on this site, keep your guard up and enjoy the decent side of the internet. there are good folks online in spite of all the crap, scammers and spammers.
Comment by gunner — 8/24/2006 @ 8:13 pm
Henry,
Please don’t give up having a computer. I had a PC and switched to a Mac for the reasons you described. I was tired of wrestling with virus’s, spam, spyware removal/updates, etc. Like gunner said “there are good folks online in spite of all the crap, scammers and spammers”.
Have your son get you an inexpensive Mac and join a Mac computer users group. Mac’s are known for not getting virus’s, are easy to set up and are very user friendly. There are numerous forums and computer groups out there with members who really enjoy helping others with questions or problems to solve.
Good luck and hang in there!
Comment by John — 8/25/2006 @ 8:35 am
Henry, if you toss the computer you are letting the spammers win! Get a more secure computer and operating system! Macs are great for this! Also there are versions of Linux which are really easy to use, like Ubuntu. You can use your same computer, just get rid of Windows and install Ubuntu intead!
Comment by Lindsey — 8/25/2006 @ 9:00 am
This is totally unrelated to the subject, however, I have to know. To ‘Gunner’…U.S.M.C.? If so, Semper Fi Brother. Henry
Comment by Henry Dillenkofer — 8/25/2006 @ 11:25 am
i have a problem with google… everytime i go to google.co.uk or google.com, i search something such as a football teams name, i will click on the result and for some reason it takes me to sites such as: oldhetaira.com, romemaster.com and weddingcamerasplace.com . i certainly dont want to go on these sites and they have nothing to do with my search so what should i do? :(
Comment by Jack — 12/9/2006 @ 7:27 am