Chicago Tribune | Spammers Exploit High-Speed Connections:
"Next time you're looking for a culprit for all that junk mail flooding your inbox, have a glance in the mirror. Spammers are increasingly exploiting home computers with high-speed Internet connections into which they've cleverly burrowed.

E-mail security companies estimate that between one-third and two-thirds of unwanted messages are relayed unwittingly by PC owners who set up software incorrectly or fail to secure their machines.… "

Hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide have been infected by SoBig and other viruses that are programmed to spawn gateways, known technically as proxies, to relay spam. Though Lawrence had antivirus software, he hadn't kept it updated.

It's ironic to the president of the security Web site myNetWatchman.com, Lawrence Baldwin, that those afflicted by spam are also often its couriers.…

Any Internet-connected computer could be running a proxy spam relay, but most of the malicious programs are written specifically for PCs that run Windows.

In the past, some spammers had sought out and exploited Internet-connected computers with misconfigured networking software. The latest and growing threat is code purposely written to create spam relay proxies as it is spread by malicious viruses.

"It's just going to get worse," said Ken Schneider, chief technology officer at spam-filtering company Brightmail Inc. "Traditionally, virus writers were driven more by reputation and trying to impress each other. Now there's an economic motive."

Just last week, a proxy program called Mitglieder began installing itself on computers infected by last month's Mydoom outbreak, said Mikko Hypponen, manager of antivirus research at F-Secure Corp. in Finland. He said such programs can also sneak in if computer owners fail to install patches to fix known Windows flaws.

The shift in spamming methods even prompted the Federal Trade Commission to issue a consumer alert last month. The advisory encouraged consumers to use antivirus and firewall programs and to check "sent mail" folders for suspicious messages.

Others say home users should also keep their Windows operating systems up to date by visiting http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

"If your computer has been taken over by a spammer, you could face serious problems," the FTC advisory wrote. "Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may prevent you from sending any e-mail at all until the virus is treated, and treatment could be a complicated, time-consuming process.…"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/sns-ap-spam-zombies,1,2703344.story?coll=chi-technology-hed