None of us like to receive spam, those annoying and unwanted messages that intrude into our use of the Internet. You may have been thinking that someone actually sits there sending out these messages one at a time, but the reality is that they are often created by Spam Bots.
A Spam Bot is created to assist in sending out spam messages. These can be advertisements for products and services we have no interest in, backlinks that are used to manipulate search engine results, or perhaps even political messages. These things are bad enough, but even more worrying is the fact that these messages are also used to place malware on people's computers.
Spam Bots create fake accounts on Social Media and forums, before seeding them with messages sent out at predetermined intervals The Spam Bot may create fake users and complete the sign-up forms automatically.
It is not only sending the messages that the spammers have automated. They also have another type of Spam Bot that will trawl through Social Media and websites, seeking out email addresses, from which they create massive lists that they use to bombard with spam messages. Recognizing an email address on a page of text is fairly simple and once this process is set up, the Bot can be left alone to work its way through the Internet.
The unfortunate thing is that even when an account that uses Spam Bots is discovered and shut down, the operator of the bots can simply open another account within seconds and resume operations.
More complex bots have the ability to replicate themselves, and if a user opens a link on the spam message, can install themselves on the new computer and start sending out more spam. Individuals who do this are called Bot Herders.
Many Bots are set up by people who speak very poor English and will contain multiple spelling mistakes. They will also insert messages into a conversation that bears no relationship to the current topic. Sometimes, although not always, they will have Brandon computer-generated usernames.
It is important to delete these messages and close any accounts that infect any system you operate, never click on any links they contain and do not try to engage in conversation with the senders of the spam, as this serves no purpose.
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