YouTube turned into YouSpam
As recently reported by
several outlets for the media, there has been a tremendous increase of spam
messages in video hosting environments all across the World Wide Web. We all know that becoming a victim of these
unsolicited advertisements can be one of the most dreadful experiences on the
net. As more filtering programs are
being introduced to manage the issue as it relates to email, several users are
baffled by the fact that too many social networking administrators have failed
to take the appropriate precautions to address and handle the problem. It has been speculated that many of the
targeted environments, such as Myspace and YouTube ,have not taken initiative
because this high rate of spam serves beneficial to them by generating traffic
and selling advertisements.
Other platforms, such as
the Google video sharing site have also been victimized. If the swarming activity on spam blogs being
created on Google's Blogspot serves as any indication, it may be quite some
time before any of these video sharing communities take serious action against
users who distribute spam to advertise their sites, products and services.
The longevity of streaming media spam
Just as we have witnessed
with the abuse of unsolicited email, it is very likely that this intrusive form
of advertising will persist, regardless of the spam policies put in place. The truth is that sites like YouTube and
Myspace have created such a buzz that spam will never truly falter their
identity. Commercial communication
making wide use of audio and video streaming will always have a place on the
web. As long as the environments
continue to output a higher percentage of quality, legitimate content, these
sites will continue to intrigue users who are willing to dismiss the increasing
spam postings they may come across.
The dangers of video spam
Aside from the aspect of
website marketing, more malicious spammers are using video sharing platforms
with destructive intent. One mass
mailing spam campaign offered its recipients the opportunity to view themselves
in a YouTube video. Instead, after
clicking on the referred link, they were redirected to site where their
operating system was packed with numerous types of infectious malware. Many Exploit Prevention Labs have reported
that these treacherous links are encrypted with various keyloggers, rootkits
and other security threats.
After reaching the site
in reference, recipients are persuaded into playing a video file that actually
initiates the process of malware being downloaded to their hard drive. It has been said that the Storm Worm Trojan
horse has been directly responsible for many of these incidents, transforming
the computers of innocent recipients into an army of robot zombies that attack
other machines. This spam scam has not
only impacted users of video sharing communities, but also those making use of
popular blogs and interactive message forums.
It is pretty safe to
assume that this innovative spamming technique will continue to annoy and
endanger legitimate users until the powerhouses such as YouTube and Myspace
take the appropriate action. It is also
likely that users will be able to remain aware of the current spamming trends
as they are sure to make for great media coverage on and off the web.
