Spammers Targeting Kids

Yesterday, something unusual started to occur. Occasional comment spam would hit my recently relocated blogsite. Interestingly, the spam comments are targeted at the two December posts about protecting kids online. WordPress has built-in moderation, so I get e-mails to confirm the posts, which I mark as spam.

What’s interesting: The comment spam is only directed at the two long posts about kids online safety. The messages, while all similar, come from different sources, suggesting computers co-opted as part of botnets. The messages typically include links to gambling and other sites typically offered up by spyware.

My larger concern is drive-by downloads, which is why moderation is essential. It’s possible for wicked folks to put links to nefarious sites in comment spam that would lead people to places that would download spyware or RATs (remote access trojans) to their computers. The latter situation could co-opt the then newly-infected computer as part of the botnet. Bastards.