YouTube turned into YouSpam
As recently reported by several outlets for the media, there has been a tremendous increase of spam messages in video hosting environments all across the World Wide Web. We all know that becoming a victim of these unsolicited advertisements can be one of the most dreadful experiences on the net. As more filtering programs are being introduced to manage the issue as it relates to email, several users are baffled by the fact that too many social networking administrators have failed to take the appropriate precautions to address and handle the problem. It has been speculated that many of the targeted environments, such as Myspace and YouTube ,have not taken initiative because this high rate of spam serves beneficial to them by generating traffic and selling advertisements.
Other platforms, such as the Google video sharing site have also been victimized. If the swarming activity on spam blogs being created on Google's Blogspot serves as any indication, it may be quite some time before any of these video sharing communities take serious action against users who distribute spam to advertise their sites, products and services.
The longevity of streaming media spam
Just as we have witnessed with the abuse of unsolicited email, it is very likely that this intrusive form of advertising will persist, regardless of the spam policies put in place. The truth is that sites like YouTube and Myspace have created such a buzz that spam will never truly falter their identity. Commercial communication making wide use of audio and video streaming will always have a place on the web. As long as the environments continue to output a higher percentage of quality, legitimate content, these sites will continue to intrigue users who are willing to dismiss the increasing spam postings they may come across.
The dangers of video spam
Aside from the aspect of website marketing, more malicious spammers are using video sharing platforms with destructive intent. One mass mailing spam campaign offered its recipients the opportunity to view themselves in a YouTube video. Instead, after clicking on the referred link, they were redirected to site where their operating system was packed with numerous types of infectious malware. Many Exploit Prevention Labs have reported that these treacherous links are encrypted with various keyloggers, rootkits and other security threats.
After reaching the site in reference, recipients are persuaded into playing a video file that actually initiates the process of malware being downloaded to their hard drive. It has been said that the Storm Worm Trojan horse has been directly responsible for many of these incidents, transforming the computers of innocent recipients into an army of robot zombies that attack other machines. This spam scam has not only impacted users of video sharing communities, but also those making use of popular blogs and interactive message forums.
It is pretty safe to assume that this innovative spamming technique will continue to annoy and endanger legitimate users until the powerhouses such as YouTube and Myspace take the appropriate action. It is also likely that users will be able to remain aware of the current spamming trends as they are sure to make for great media coverage on and off the web.
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