New Spam Campaigns Use JavaScript

PRESS RELEASE

Berlin, June 24, 2010 - eleven, a leading e-mail-security provider based in Germany, is warning users about several spam campaigns which are using a new trick to circumvent spam filters. They contain a HTML attachment which, when opened, activates a JavaSrip which redirects the user's Web browser to the spammers' target site. These are usually online pharma sites often used in spam campaigns. One spam e-mail detected by eleven, however, redirected to a social networking site which has been used for phishing purposes in the past.

The trick is used in order to circumvent spam filters which search for links to known spam or phishing sites in the e-mail content. The method makes the spam detection more difficult because the e-mail does not contain a link but directs the browser to the intended Website using the JavaScript. In contrast, eleven's unique eXpurgate technology checks e-mails for the key characteristic of all spam, its distribution via mass e-mail. Therefore, eXpurgate detects such spam with a high level of reliability.

The spam campaigns detected by eleven use various subject lines and topics to lure recipients into opening the attached file. These include password reset requests using the name of a popular social networking platform, fake conformations of domain registrations or seemingly personal messages with subjects such as "You're My Everything" und "You Are My Sunshine".

eleven - E-mail security "Made in Germany" eleven is a leading e-mail security provider based in Germany. Its eXpurgate technology, which is unique worldwide, offers a spam filter and e-mail categorization service that protects the user reliably from spam and phishing, detects potentially dangerous e-mail and can distinguish between individual messages and any kind of mass e-mail. eXpurgate also offers numerous virus protection options and a powerful e-mail firewall.

Over 45,000 companies of all sizes use eXpurgate to check and categorize more than a billion e-mail messages every day. Customers include Internet service providers and telecommunication carriers such as T-Online, O2, Vodafone and freenet as well as many well-known companies and public institutions, including Air Berlin, the Federal Association of German Banks, DATEV, the Free University of Berlin, Landesbank Berlin, Mazda, RTL, ThyssenKrupp and Tobit Software AG. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.eleven.de.