Find spammers with the help of a database and Google Charts

Sniffing out Spammers

© rgbspace, Fotolia

© rgbspace, Fotolia

Article from Issue 100/2009
Author(s):

To identify the geographic regions from which link spam originated, a database locates IP addresses and the Google Charts service puts them onto a world map.

Sometimes I imagine how satisfying it would be to track down a spammer or telemarketer's office, like the man in the Snickers commercial [1] who arrives at the office and gets his revenge. Unfortunately, legal and logistical reasons often prevent this. Additionally, it is often the case that the perpetrators are botnets rather than the spammers themselves. Still, it would be interesting to create a graph that pinpoints the geographic regions in which most spam activities originate.

The Internet is the ideal platform for anonymous trickery, but the perpetrator's deeds actually leave a trail – each incoming request on a website includes the sender's IP address (see Figure 1).

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Download Article PDF now with Express Checkout
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subscriptions
Digital Subscriptions

Related content

  • Kaspersky Lab: Spammers Do Their Own Advertising

    In its semi-annual spam report, the Russian security experts Kaspersky Lab have concluded the economic crisis has had no bearing on the amount of spam distributed worldwide. However, spammers have had to turn to creating ads for their very own services.

    more »
  • Blocking Spam Intro

    Spammers charge real money for their dubious services, and hundreds of advertisers are willing to pay. We’ll show you some innovative techniques for controlling and containing spam, including strategies for slowing down spam bots, keeping spammers from getting your address, and separating spam from legitimate email.

    more »
  • Google Chart

    The Google Chart API lets you draw custom graphs, charts, maps, and barcodes through a simple web interface.

    more »
  • Tarpits

    A tarpit slows down spam by reducing the effectiveness of the spammer’s weapons.

    more »
  • Address Protection

    Sometimes the best way to keep spam out of your mailbox is to keep the spammers from getting your address.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Mobile Programming Security Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source