Image spam is a technique where a spam is delivered in the form of an image. This is mainly done to evade spam filters that scan specific keywords. It works better because any user can read his/ her image, whereas anti-spam mechanisms cannot.
An anti-spam system has improved to have better fake image recognition mechanism. There are different spam detection processes like honeypots, message header analysis, and human reporting mechanisms. There are several anti-spam systems with a combination of whitelists, blacklists and so-called gray lists that built up new improvisations continuously for the battle of spam prevention.
How to avoid Image Spam
Educate End Users
Staying alert is always the best and most important option to avoid image spam. The spammers are making handsome money from these spams. The users are lured to buy shares, driving up prices and then are stuck with fake stocks. Educating the end users about these spams are the only way to fall prey.
Use Mail Anti-Virus
Spams are blocked effectively with a reputed mail anti-virus like MailScan. MailScan for Mail Servers uses its powerful inbuilt technology to filter out image spam from the mail servers. As a result, it stops affecting the performance of mail servers and thus helps the users to be cautious beforehand.
Use Reputation Systems
Since the content of an image spam is not easy to analyze, thus it is crucial to use an anti-spam solution that employs reputation information. Real-time data should also be insisted upon.
Stick to Current Version
Virus, malware, Trojan and spam protection is effective only when the software is updated. Then only the users can make sure that the incoming data reputation is checked in real-time. Otherwise, it should be reported to the concerned product department for immediate action and avoid any major loss.
Conclusion
The war with image spams has been renewed with a new look by the spammers who have developed newest types and patterns to survive in this unlawful business. It is disgusting to see the spammers continue their research on further tactics, but the problem can be handled by using latest and robust solutions and well-known precautionary measures.
