Spam: Spy Control

Beware of spammers bearing GIFs. Received from 69.166.48.47 (ny-auburn-cuda1q-47.bflony.adelphia.net) on Tue, 29 Mar 2005 22:17:25 +0000, one spam advertising Spy Control software. There's a number of things to be said about this. First of all, there's good cause to be suspicious of the software itself. It has been advertised in an unethical manner, and there's a significant chance that the software will also do unethical things if you install it on your computer. Installing software of any sort on your computer is quite a trusting act, so consider the reputation of your source when doing so.

The other thing I'd like to mention about this spam is that it appears to use "affiliate marketing", but this is often a smokescreen. Affiliate marketing is where marketing is out-sourced in an open manner to anyone who wants to do it. Some of these "affiliates" might advertise by spamming, and the company so advertised may try to deny responsibility by blaming the affiliate. It's the responsibility of the company to deter spamming by affiliates. I can see no reason to think that the "affiliate" even exists in this particular case.