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Net Send - Yet Another Type of Spam On August 23 I noticed my ADSL modem acting differently than usual. It appeared as if my systems were being pinged approximately 9 times per minute. A hardware firewall (internal to my router) stopped the pings from reaching any of my computers. To make a long story as short as possible.... I disconnected my router, enabled a software firewall, and connected a Win XP Pro system directly to the modem. The cause of the pings is a messenger pop-up informing me my system is vulnerable and I should visit a web site to purchase software. I contacted my Internet Service Provider and was informed that there is nothing currently in place at the ISP level to stop the constant pings. I am able to effectively stop the messenger pop-ups, but the constant pings interrupt downloads, ruin online gaming, and cause router data collisions that have resulted in the need to re-boot systems. I can accept a once a day messenger pop-up attempt but pinging my system several times a minute cannot be considered a marketing practice. It has resulted in disabling the functionality of my systems and can best be described as theft. I researched the present cost of the software packages that allow anyone the ability to generate these bothersome pings. The most expensive package I saw advertised is $97.00 US and the least expensive is under 10 dollars. All of the packages (by some strange coincidence) had very similar text descriptions. One final comment.... I used a slide rule in school. |