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The Linux Launderette

By Jimmy O'Regan


Car auction scam

Mike Orr [sluggoster at gmail.com]


Tue, 8 May 2007 09:12:35 -0700

Anybody who knows me knows how inappropriate this is. What would I do with a car, put it in my living room? Note the terms: you pay a fee and $10,000 deposit, we "promise" to return the deposit if your car(s) don't win the auction. "We cannot put prospective business partner funds in our bank account,that's why we will be using e-gold payment only."

This does count as the first time I've heard of anybody actually using e-gold for anything.

[ Thread continues here (5 messages/16.36kB) ]


[Evals] Microsoft buys aQuantive (was: New blood)

Rick Moen [rick at linuxmafia.com]


Fri, 18 May 2007 14:14:04 -0700

----- Forwarded message from Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> -----

Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 14:08:55 -0700
From: Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com>
To: evals@lists.merlins.org
Subject: [Evals] Microsoft buys aQuantive (was: New blood)
Back on April 19, I wrote:

> Quoting the most recent press release on the VA $WHATEVER Web site:
> 
>   VA Software Corporation (Nasdaq: LNUX), the online media, software, 
>   and e-commence leader in community-driven Open Source innovation, 
>   today announced that Scott E. Howe has joined the company's Board 
>   of Directors effective March 7, 2007. Howe brings more than eight
>   years of experience in the areas of internet media, technology, and
>   advertising.
>   [...]
>   Howe is President for DRIVE Performance Media, a division of
>   aQuantive, Inc. aQuantive is a global digital marketing company and the
>   parent company of interactive agencies, performance media and behavioral
>   targeting businesses, and providers of integrated digital marketing
>   technologies throughout the world. [...]
> [...] 
> In other words, one of the many firms quietly making money off
> "metrics", i.e., spying on the user, data-mining / data sales,
> consequent targeted advertising, etc., "integrated digital marketing
> technologies" being one of the standard corporate euphemisms for spying.

Apparently, Microsoft Corporation badly, badly wanted a ride on the same bus, because they just acquired qQuantive for SIX GIGABUCKS (US $6 x 10^9).

US readers can be excused if they've become blase about huge dollar figures after years of underwriting BushCo Federal budgets, but some context may help: Microsoft's _total equity_ is $34.9 x 10^9. So, they just sunk 1/6 of the full net value of their firm into this purchase.

(MSFT common stock took a $1 hit to $30.6, but is still near 7-year highs.)

Hmm, sudden, massive market diversification immediately following the firm's annual Be Very Afraid Tour?[1] Maybe a sign that those unspecified patents are mostly crap, and that they fear increasing danger to the monopoly gravy-train?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-webads19may19,1,7538913.story?coll=la-headlines-business (Note: _LA Times_ links go payment-only after about a week) http://news.google.com/?ncl=1116466959&hl=en

[1] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070517083516872

-- 
Cheers,                   "Of course, NIMBYism is perfectly fine for other
Rick Moen                 places, but we certainly shouldn't allow it in
rick@linuxmafia.com       our town."   -- Rick M., going meta on his $SPOUSE

SPAM: New 0day Exploit.

Ben Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]


Fri, 18 May 2007 11:38:42 -0500

Wow. Ya just gotta love the business model.

I've seen this kind of thing for Wind0ws in the past, but never for Linux; it seems the dirtbags are going upscale these days...

----- Forwarded message from linuxmaniakz <linux@maniakz.us.com> -----

To: xxxxx@linuxgazette.net
Subject: [SPAM] New 0day Exploit.
From: linuxxxxxxxx <linux@xxxxxxx.xx.com>
Reply-To: notreplyable@xxxxxxx.xx.com
Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 23:27:09 -0500

  XPLOITS FOR SKILLFUL LINUX USERS


 Please if you get this mail , do not forward it , because its for
 you, you we're chosen by us to be sent this mail so keep it that way.

 ====================================================================
 BLACKMARKET SITE , THIS IS JUST A PRIV8 NEW EXPLOITS MAIL SUBSCRIBER
 ====================================================================

 We are sending you this mail not for knowledge but for ownage :

 2.4.* <.30
 2.6.* <.19      kernel bug

 First 5 exploits are free but source is hidden , if you want the source
 and more private exploits you will have to pay. Thank you very much.

====================================================================
                         http://xxxxxxx.xxx.xx/x/xxxxxx.gz ; gunzip xxxxxx.gz
 ====================================================================

 If you are not interested please delete this message bye.

----- End forwarded message -----
-- 
* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *

[ Thread continues here (2 messages/2.61kB) ]


Hi

Mike Orr [sluggoster at gmail.com]


Tue, 1 May 2007 10:03:15 -0700

Western kind of 419 scam. Note the empty addressee name.

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Dear,

My name is Grace Smith, I am 24 years old, from London - England, where I school and work as a fashion designer for part time job I do after my school. I am the only daughter of my parents my father died on a fatal auto accident on his way to see my sick mother at the hospital where she was admitted for Cancer treatments, she also die when she heard about the death of my father in same day and hospital.

Before the death of my father, he had Willed part of his Real Estate Business, Gas Stations and a total sum of =A350,700,000.00(Fifty Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling) to me. Now at his death, and because things has become very hard for me paying my school fees, putting food on the table and taking care of my other needs which my fashion designer work I do as a part time work after my school can't help, I went to the bank where my late father deposited the funds on my behalf to with draw money to take care of my self and pay for my school fees and other bills.

I was shocked when the Bank Manager explained to me that I will not be able to draw from the deposited money, because my father had putting a clause on the Will, which he used in depositing the funds with them, saying that before I will be given access to the money, I will either have to be 30 years old or I will be given access to the money, if I get married before the age of 30 , in which case, my husband will be legible to collect the money on my behalf by standing in as my late fathers next of kin to claim the deposited funds on my behalf.

Today I am only 24 years old. And I have no access to the money till I'm 30 years. So, I'm contacting you to stand in as my husband to claim this fund on my behalf if you are married already, you can still help me by standing in as my late fathers next of kin to the deposited funds. So, please get back to me as to know how you will be remunerated as I will part with 40% of the total sum =A350,700, 000.00 (Fifty Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling) ,while 10% will be mapped out for any expenses that we're to use to receive the money from the deposited Bank.

Please remember that I am writing you this email purely on the ground of trust so we can achieve this deal together. This transaction will last for two weeks after you get back to me on how serious you are to claim these funds on my behalf.

Yours Truly, Grace Smith


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Bio picture Jimmy is a single father of one, who enjoys long walks... Oh, right.

Jimmy has been using computers from the tender age of seven, when his father inherited an Amstrad PCW8256. After a few brief flirtations with an Atari ST and numerous versions of DOS and Windows, Jimmy was introduced to Linux in 1998 and hasn't looked back.

In his spare time, Jimmy likes to play guitar and read: not at the same time, but the picks make handy bookmarks.

Copyright © 2007, Jimmy O'Regan. Released under the Open Publication License unless otherwise noted in the body of the article. Linux Gazette is not produced, sponsored, or endorsed by its prior host, SSC, Inc.

Published in Issue 139 of Linux Gazette, June 2007

Tux