Forum Discussion

nitaclay's avatar
nitaclay
Sophomore
4 years ago

Renewal of spam attacks

We had this discussion back in the fall when some of us were getting hundreds of spam emails each day, and it seems we were all getting the same ones. Liz assured us they were working on it, and it did get much better. Now, the spam emails are beginning again. It started with just 3 or 4. Now today, there were 51. I do mark them spam, but they just show right back up. I don't remember who all had this problem, but I'm willing to bet I'm not alone.

general discussion is not a support area
  • Liz's avatar
    Liz
    4 years ago

    Good morning nitaclay,

     

    Thank you for your patience while our e-mail folks looked into your concern. They have located and blocked the offending IPs from sending again and the issue should slacken now if not completely stop.  Please continue marking any suspicious e-mail as spam to help strengthen our spam controls.

     

    If you have any other concerns, please feel free to reach out again.

     

      Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

     

    Thanks,

    Liz

  • adlercpa's avatar
    adlercpa
    New Poster
    4 years ago

    I am getting a bunch of spam from Zedline. They use ramdon letters like fstv@zedline.com. I block them but they just keep changing the random letters and more still come.

    Some get to my email even though they are not sent to my email address. Can hughes.net block all emails from Zedline?

     

    Jim Adler

    [removed to protect privacy]

    • GabeU's avatar
      GabeU
      Distinguished Professor IV
      4 years ago

      adlercpa 

       

      It's not a good idea to post your email address in public.  That's a good way to increase spam.  

       

      You can edit your email address out of your post by clicking on the three vertical dots to the upper right of the post.  If the reps need your email address they'll request it to be given via private message, for which they normally provide a link.

    • maratsade's avatar
      maratsade
      Distinguished Professor IV
      4 years ago

      Jim, the email admins are working on the spam issue, but there's likely only so much they can do, as spammers get around counter-measures soon after they're deployed.  Your best bet is to keep marking messages as spam or just delete them. 

       

      adlercpa wrote:

      I am getting a bunch of spam from Zedline. They use ramdon letters like fstv@zedline.com. I block them but they just keep changing the random letters and more still come.

      Some get to my email even though they are not sent to my email address. Can hughes.net block all emails from Zedline?

       

      Jim Adler

       

       

      • MarkJFine's avatar
        MarkJFine
        Professor
        4 years ago

        When it's fixed, you should be able to block by the domain name, e.g. *@zedline.com. That should stop it for a week until the domain changes.

         

        Admins may want to relay this to the engineers: Majority of spam will come from web servers that have been compromized by hacked web site plugins as a means to get around checks to the RBL, but it doesn't last long. That said, it's best for the email server to check the HELO IP of incoming messages against an RBL and reject as appropriate. It's one of the best defenses to kill this beast. The current checker they have in place doesn't seem to be doing this.

  • Liz's avatar
    Liz
    Moderator
    4 years ago

    Good morning nitaclay, 

     

    Thanks for your patience while our e-mail folks investigated. They've found that most of the spam you received is mostly advertisement spam. This is something you may have signed up for or indirectly signed up for when signing up for something else. This spam has a unsubscribe option at the bottom of the emails. They suggest unsubscribing from them as they receive them, and if you do not see unsubscribe, click on Display Images.

     

    -Liz

    • nitaclay's avatar
      nitaclay
      Sophomore
      4 years ago

      Liz,

      I'm sorry to disagree! Most of the spam emails are NOT legit advertising. I do not spend time looking for information on websites I know nothing about. If your researchers will look at my spam box, they will see the spam email subjects may sound legit, but they contain a jumble of letters, misspelled words, weird capitalizations, etc. I have even received several supposedly from HughesNet. Here are some of the titles of ones I have received over and over: Congrats!, Technik, Viva Loan, Elongation Secret from African Tribesmen, Eliminate Fat Fast, IllusionalRug, Male Breakthrough, DentiStrength, dsgsdfgsef, feelbetter, Privacy Protection, Trends2you, Keranique Hair Treatment, Congratulations, Miracle gummies, Dr. Theodore Diktaban, and others. They may sound legit, but I assure you, they are not! Others are bound to be experiencing the same thing.

      • Liz's avatar
        Liz
        Moderator
        4 years ago

        Hi nitaclay,

         

        Thank you for this additional information! I'll send this over to our e-mail folks for their input.

         

        -Liz

    • MarkJFine's avatar
      MarkJFine
      Professor
      4 years ago

      Although what Liz says is true for legit advertisers, please be careful that the email is from who it says it is.

       

      If the "From" address looks sketchy or doesn't seem to match the product, I'd advise not hitting Unsubscribe. In those cases the link is used to verify a live email account and somtimes may lead to even more spam.

      • nitaclay's avatar
        nitaclay
        Sophomore
        4 years ago

        Thanks! They are definitely NOT legit advertisers as most have jumbled letters, misspelled words, etc. I haven't opened them, but I doubt they even have a place to unsubscribe. I just can't believe I'm the only HughesNet customer who is experiencing all this spam!

  • Liz's avatar
    Liz
    Moderator
    4 years ago

    Hi nitaclay,

     

    Thanks for reaching out again, I'm escalating this to our e-mail folks to address. I'll post back once I have any further questions or updates from them.

     

      Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

     

    Thanks,

    Liz

  • maratsade's avatar
    maratsade
    Distinguished Professor IV
    4 years ago

    Several people were having the same issue -- I imagine that spammers have figured out a way to bypass the new measures.  

     

    I think this topic would get more traction and exposure under Tech Support. I wonder if Liz  or Remy would move it there.  (EDIT: It was moved -- thanks!)