March 2005

03.04.2005: Photo-happy volunteers wanted

I’m seeking volunteers for a collaborative photo project. You need to have a digital camera with at least three megapixels and be able to receive something in the (old-fashioned) mail. Write to project (at) lightningfield.com for more information.

Update: There were more than enough volunteers. If you haven’t heard back from me, you will in the next few days. Thanks!

Comments: 0

03.07.2005: Spammed by ‘Spamalot’

A few weeks ago I signed up for the mailing list for the new Monty Python musical “Spamalot.” As is my usual habit I gave them a unique e-mail address (in this case, my initials followed by ‘spamalot’ @ this domain name). Last night I received the first message sent to that address. It insisted that I submit information about my (nonexistent) Washington Mutual account to some server in China.

In other words, I was spammed by a musical featuring a song about spam. Except that technically I was phished, and I’m thinking this was most likely a result of bad virus protection on the machine handling the mailing list, and not Eric Idle trying to raid my bank account. Or maybe it’s a really weird marketing campaign.

I’m planning to follow up on this, so in the unlikely event that you have had a similar experience, I’d like to hear from you. Full text of the generic phishing e-mail is below. (Update: I removed this.)

03.12 Update: I ended up writing a story about this: What to Expect of ‘Spamalot’? A Lot of Spam.

03.15 Update: According to the developer of the “Spamalot” site, the following message went out to the list Friday night. I did not receive it.

SpamAlot Security Alert

Dear Spamalot Newsletter Subscriber,

It has come to our attention, that the database containing your subscription
information may have been compromised during an attack on our servers by
internet hackers. As a result of this theft, you may receive unsolicited emails
to the account you submitted including fraudulent emails that appear to come
from financial institutions. Since being informed of the potential problem, we
have taken additional security precautions which will prevent this type of
attack from succeeding in the future.

We apologize if this has caused you alarm or inconvenience. If you have any
questions or concerns, please contact us at newsletter (at) montypythonsspamalot.com.

Sincerely,

Website Manager

03.17 Update: I got this message yesterday, as did some other people on the list.

Comments: 3

03.08.2005: Around town

halal sandwiches ebt
the car
Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
party room for rent
Jackson Heights, Queens.

Downtown Brooklyn.
special stolen & collision rate
Park Slope.

Comments: 0