ImageShack Replaces Spam Images with Scam Warnings


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ImageShack Replaces Spam Images with Scam Warnings

Popular image hosting service ImageShack has decided to fight spam by replacing abusive images detected on its servers with ones that alert users about scams.

ImageShack is one of the largest free media hosting providers and is used by hundreds of thousands of websites. The service runs on some 450 Linux servers, organized in a cluster which is serving over 2.5 million images on a daily basis.

Like all popular services, ImageShack is constantly abused by cybercriminals to host images that are part of scams or spam campaigns. One of the most common attacks of this type is image-based email spam, in particular related to pharmaceutical products.

Another service constantly abused to host pharma spam material is Google Docs, but unlike Google, ImageShack decided against simply deleting the offending content. Instead, it replaced the abusive images with ones alerting users that emails they just read are part of a scam, therefore not only blocking the attacks, but also raising awareness.

The ImageShack alert images display several logos normally associated with danger and hazards and contain warnings like: "Delete this email immediately. This is a scam. Do not click anything here. Do not buy. Pharmacy scam. Illegal. Alert. Fake pills. Your money will be stolen."

Read more here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/ImageShack-Replaces-Spam-Images-with-Scam-Warnings-184061.shtml

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