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Q: email marketing ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: email marketing
Category: Computers
Asked by: carloponti-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 31 Oct 2004 17:42 PST
Expires: 30 Nov 2004 17:42 PST
Question ID: 422726
I received these as part of an email what are they? Thery appear at
the bottom of the email. Are they some kind of a tag message?

"monogamous borderland freehand deferent jaunty bam norris theme
breccia forklift collegian canteen chateau kudzu redpoll capita
odyssey campground quiet goren pigeonfoot clothbound chinatown bought
aviv tug clapeyron inconsiderate tuff cia"
Answer  
Subject: Re: email marketing
Answered By: pinkfreud-ga on 31 Oct 2004 18:01 PST
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
Whenever an email contains a list of unrelated words of this type, it
is likely that the sender is trying to subvert spam-detection systems.
The string of random words is called a "hash buster."

There was a good article in "Wired" about this. Here is an excerpt;
you may want to read the article in its entirety (just click the
link):

"The addition of seemingly nonsensical words is aimed at confusing the
antispam filters that incorporate Bayesian analysis techniques, such
as SpamBayes and SpamAssassin. These filters examine incoming e-mail
messages and calculate the probability of it being spam based on each
message's contents...

By throwing a hundred or so random words rarely used in sales spiels
into each e-mail missive, spammers hope to thwart Bayesian filters by
making the spam appear to be personal correspondence. Incorporating
words that might be used in legitimate e-mails is also intended to
poison the checklist the filter uses, forcing it to mark, for example,
e-mails with somewhat common words like Amazon and fish as spam
indicators.

The strange strings of words, which usually appear at the bottom of
spam and sometimes in the subject line, are automatically added by
spammers' mass-mailer software, according to Steve Linford of
Spamhaus, an antispam advocacy organization.

'This random noise is technically known as a hash buster,' Linford explained."
 
Wired News: Random Acts of Spamness  
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,61886,00.html/wn_ascii

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "hash buster OR busters" spam
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22hash+buster+OR+busters%22+spam

I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll gladly offer further assistance before you
rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud
carloponti-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars
Very prompt and helpful. A typical of answers in that it begets more
questions nonetheless very good value for money and informative help.

Thank you.

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