Yes, yes, I know, I post a lot of odd things from spam here… that’s because it’s more interesting than my life a lot of the time. 🙂

Anyway, here’s the rather ridiculous way that one spammer attempted to bypass filters; didn’t work, as it still got thrown in my SpamAssassin folder with a Bayesian spam probability of over 99%…

--- system information ---

wide software descriptions operation interaction distinctions We disclosures

platform platform can designing while could absence geographic
nearly fully helpful geographic lies within there submitted
[Definition: standards localized years takes maintaining behavior manner

following environments does revised guidance require use form

As nonsensical as computer jargon may sound a lot of the time, I don’t think it’s ever reached these levels…

Mom threatens ‘Chuck E. Cheese,’ authorities say

A teenager dressed as Chuck E. Cheese was pelted with pizza and threatened with a beating Sunday by an angry parent who said the restaurant mascot wasn’t paying enough attention to her child, witnesses told Macon police.

The incident took place at the Chuck E. Cheese at 3375 Mercer University Drive, according to a police report. The 17-year-old was in costume as the pizzeria chain character – a gray cartoon-like rodent with large front teeth – when the 31-year-old Macon woman threw a piece of pizza at her, the report stated.

The woman then allegedly threatened to “whip” the girl when she changed out of the costume.

No charges have been filed in the incident.

The full text of three spams, obviously part of the same campaign, that I received earlier today:

Subject: Your interests..
From: "Asgard Q. Scarify" <byzantine@worryguts.com>

What are the washing instructions?
Men now monopolize the upper levels… depriving women of their rightful share of opportunities for incompetence.
Driving is a spectacular form of amnesia. Everything is to be discovered, everything to be obliterated.Charm is the ability to make someone think that both of you are quite wonderful.
You have enjoyed VlaCra and wish for a longer effect? GIAIis can make it happen.
Enjoy It! civilian pasting unhome semioriental eburneoid
We take greater pains to persuade others we are happy than in trying to think so ourselves.
I may have faults, but being wrong ain't one of them.
Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied.

(more…)

Here’s still another article, this one from EWeek, claiming that Internet Explorer is too dangerous to keep using. Noticing a theme here lately?

Wired.com tracks down the origins of that annoying hoax about AOL, Microsoft, and Intel merging. Quite interesting: it started as a computer science student’s spoof of ‘get rich quick’ schemes.

And for the curious, here’s the history of the hoax that’s referred to in the article.

(via Fark.com)

Whoever came up with the ‘Only The Best’ variation of the CoolWebSearch spyware needs to be shot. (Here’s some info on it from PCHell.com, and here’s the SpywareInfo thread on it.) I’ve been trying to remove this monstrosity from a computer here at the office, and it’s been insanely difficult… partly because it regenerates itself and uses completely random names for its files, and partly because some of the files it generates have names which vaguely resemble those of Windows components.

Compared to this junk, Gator and its ilk seem like knights in shining armor. At least they make it possible to remove their software without going through hoops…

Do yourself a favor, everyone: if you haven’t already done so, please stop using Internet Explorer as your primary browser, and go grab Firefox or Netscape 7.1 instead. You won’t regret it.

ISMS: the Institute of Silly and Meaningless Sayings is a collection of malapropisms, spoonerisms, mixed metaphors, misuses of foreign phrases, and other such linguistic manglings that fans of wordplay should thoroughly enjoy. (via J-Walk Blog)

To everyone who’s gotten infected with W32.Beagle.W and happens to have my e-mail address somewhere on your hard disk:

Will anything ever convince you to stop opening random e-mail attachments from strangers, no matter how enticing they may seem? I mean, this one doesn’t even spoof the e-mail addresses of actual friends, like some of the previous versions; I’d think this one would be easier to spot as a fake…

Really… you’d think people would have just an iota of sense after the last twenty-something incarnations of the virus, wouldn’t you?

Yet another columnist– this time, Scott Granneman, writing for SecurityFocus– claims that now is a good time to dump Internet Explorer. The alternatives just keep looking better and better…

Firefox and Thunderbird users, go grab the Charamel theme. This may be one of the nicest, most elegant-looking user interfaces I’ve seen in a while.

Now if only there was a version for the Mozilla suite (and its close cousin Netscape 7)…