How to Stop Junk in Instant Message
Dec. 9 -- HottiEKelly248 [10:25 PM]: HeY is that you ImARealSweetheart? rEmember me? I'm kelly, we talked a few nights ago and I just wanted to get to know you more.
Recently, we created a brand-new AOL screen name, popped into an AOL chat room, and boldly sent a single message: "Hi."
That's all it took.
Within 30 seconds, we received the instant message (IM) quoted above. In a few minutes, several more arrived. And in less than half an hour, the account was receiving a steady flow of IM spam.
Spammer's Software Secrets
Though we performed our experiment on AOL, AIM is by no means the only system where spam occurs. Any instant-messaging system that has a display listing active users or is part of a service in which spammers can learn your "handle" via a chat room or directory is susceptible.
How do IM spammers do it?
They begin with screen scrapers — programs that extract text from computer displays — to capture the names of users on IM systems. The spammers then use special software that typically can inject keystrokes and mouse clicks into the client software to send unsolicited messages to the harvested names.
Most services, especially AOL's and Yahoo!'s, terminate IM spammer accounts quickly after receiving complaints.
But it's easy for spammers to create new accounts, and the services have to verify abuse to avoid terminating the account of a legitimate user, so it's a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as one spam account is terminated, a spammer pops up elsewhere.
What You Can Do
How do you avoid IM spam? Fortunately, all of the popular IM systems provide some safeguards.
AIM lets you reject all instant messages from anyone who's not on your Buddy List or from anyone who's sending the message from the Internet client instead of AIM. To activate the safeguards, click on the "Setup" button at the bottom of your Buddy List, then click on "Set Preferences," then select the tab marked "Privacy."
Perhaps the simplest way to keep spammers at bay, however, is to prevent them from discovering your handle. A cardinal rule, as our experiment illustrates, is to stay out of chat rooms or to visit them using a separate identity that refuses all instant messages. (This may also help you to avoid e-mail spam.) And of course, never accept files sent via an IM system, as they may contain worms or viruses.
