Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Webhosting message spam can fool security tools

Spammers and the like are getting smarter, constantly updating themselves to look for ways to evade roadblocks set by our security programs. That in itself is nothing new, however what is alarming is the recent way in which security is being compromised.

Web based services are becoming an increasing target for spammers to avoid the anti-spam protections in place. According to a security research and testing firm, cyber criminals are no longer just relying on PC’s infested by malware and botnets to send spam emails, they are also taking advantage of web hosting firms to send unsolicited emails.

Web based messages have proven to be more successful at going un-detected by security tools, meaning more viewers being victim to spam marketing. A higher failure rate can make a significant difference to how successful their campaign is.

"The report shows that well over one percent of spam sent from web hosts manages to bypass spam filters, compared with less than 0.3 percent for spam sent via other means," said Virus Bulletin anti-spam test director Martijn Grooten.

"Of course, one percent still means the vast majority of messages are blocked, but with spam campaigns easily running to millions of emails, this difference can make or break the campaign for the spammer."

Anti-spam tools are highly effective in keeping junk mail out of customer inboxes, the report showed. Among the best performers were Bit Defender, Fortinet, Kaspersky, Libra Esva and OnlyMYEmail, which achieved above 99 percent while minimising false positive rates.

Experienced web designers take into consideration security holes seriously when designing and structuring the site. Look for new website designers for professional web design specialists who don't take your website potential for granted.

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