This phenomenon is familiar to all users of the e-mail. Spam mutates, adapting to changing conditions, and becomes immune to the various filters. Fight it hard, as too high risk "splash water baby" - sometimes with debris irrevocably "filtered" and an important message. Now this phenomenon is increasingly faced and owners of mobile phones. Hype on-screen cell phone is not just annoying - really important message can be taken with a delay due to debris clogged the phone. SMS-spam is ambiguous and difficult to categorize: depending on the preferences of the subscriber is the same message can be annoying advertising or useful information. Finally, our ability to "filter SMS-market" more than limited - usually on a "take all or nothing." How relevant this problem for Russia, and can deal with unsolicited advertising?
Gloomy prospects
Europe, U.S. and Japan have already gone through the disaster of mobile spam. Japanese operator DoCoMo has been forced to take special measures - a month the company received about 50,000 complaints about telephone and advertising garbage. In the U.S., one of the first successful trials took place over a year ago - the operator Verizon Wireless has sued the Acacia National Mortgage and has made a ban on the SMS-spam (Acacia has sent 170,000 SMS-messages to subscribers of Verizon in Colorado and Arizona). In Europe, adopted quite strict laws governing the use of SMS as an advertising tool. For example, in the UK in mid-September, passed a law requiring prompt the user for permission to dispatch of advertising messages to mobile phones. Penalties in the amount of 5,000 pounds will apply from 11 December - humane lawmakers measured out companies spammers three-month period for the development of alternative ways of advertising. Advertising surprises no longer limited to just text: One time I "sobstvennoushno" listened to a 10-second infomercial about a new collection of clothes in some kind of boutique. How was recording in the voice mailbox - no idea. SMS-message in the flash format importunate - automatically displayed on screen, but with the growing popularity of MMS we may well get to watch "commercial breaks" not only on the TV screen. Another potential problem - the so-called "SMS-viruses. There are cases where a specially formatted SMS-text calls the "hovering" your phone when you try to open the message. In Russia, mobile spam is not taken seriously until - God forbid find the council to "classic» email-trash.
Natural constraints SMS-spam
In a sense we are all lucky: the desire of the operators do not miss their earnings in this particular case benefited from the subscribers of cellular networks. The cornerstone of any spammer business - minimum shipping costs. Otherwise the whole scheme (mass communication) is no longer make financial sense. For example, in principle, nothing prevents (technical aspects are not affected) to send to all subscribers of the Moscow SMS-advertising washing powder. The cost of the event at standard rates - about 450 thousand dollars.Well this is the whole of Moscow should suddenly shine purity to such a mass mailing paid for itself!
Not always receive text ads and plays the voice of advertising is against the will of the subscriber. In China, some popular special service: subscribe to the service subscribers have the opportunity several times a day to listen to advertisements on the phone ... for money! At the end of each "infomercial" caller reported accrued to his account the sum. Similar projects exist in other countries. In Britain, one of the operators charges its subscribers a "bonus" minutes of play information: listened to the saga of the advertising beer and diapers - available free to call a friend and agree this is the most beer consumed together (not necessarily in diapers). Practiced free subscription to the appropriate subscriber information services in exchange for his agreement to receive a certain amount of advertising information. New and very promising technology - local delivery of information, taking into account user's location. For example, in the delivery of equipment and software for organizing mikrosoty (concert hall, stadium, supermarket) may include a software module for sending text messages to register in this mikrosote phones. Such decisions have long been working in other countries, reporting, for example, buyers of shopping centers on any "special offers".
Spam from your beloved friends and operator-subscribers
Of course, no one operator will not miss this excellent opportunity poreklamirovat "himself, the beloved." New SMS-services, service plans, phones help with the cost of $ 1.5 per minute - so you never know what you can to please the mother subscriber! Spoke with Trachtenberg, "become a piranha - dial 2030", upload a logo, get e-bonus ... And if I do not want to become either a piranha or crab and generally prefer to remain seated in a chair? It does not matter - "piranhas can you not be, but SMS is required to read" (c). However, the question is ambiguous: one Trachtenberg just annoying, and another - on the contrary, immediately run an e-ogrebat bonuses. Not everyone knows that all this information, you can disable the grace to modify settings for your profile on the site (Beeline - www.beeonline.ru) or by writing a statement in the subscription service. Similarly, we can proceed with getting too many "jokes" that are sent from the site operator. It is interesting that until relatively recently sent from the site SMS-texts were automatically censored: MTS "bad" terms are masked by asterisks, and the Beeline replaced their diminutive words of endearment (apple-tree, flower, dog, etc.). Now censorship like disabled, though not guarantee - anyone can check for yourself.
With the advent of "tridtsatikopeechnyh» SMS into a megaphone, some subscribers of this respected operator is actively expanding its range of SMS-dating, sending the proposal to talk to arbitrary numbers of other networks. Sometimes - to the delight of "forcibly deal, more often - causing bewilderment or irritation. An attempt to call back usually ends with the phrase "subscriber is unavailable, complain there is no special meaning.Informal response from the employee Megaphone on one of the forums: "Spam is sent blindly (Megafon, Beeline) or targeted (by the database MTS) - just a series of subscribers. Naturally, not a cell phone. Reverse number using such applets can substitute any - though olaytovsky though bilaynovsky though Honduran, even home phone number of Bill Gates. If you think this is an invasion of privacy, should contact the police. Theoretically, they should send us a request to this number, we need to provide technical assistance - have mass SMS-mailing with this issue or not, it is easy to install (99% probability that they were not). But in practice, such a statement can hardly be accepted. "
Sex with a candidate for mayor is not safe!
The rapid development of technology provokes the emergence of new species "spamotehniki. Sooner or later will get innovative solutions and to mobile networks. Some readers of Mobile-Review probably already received a letter with the theme "Look, how lovely !))». File with the alleged photographs and descriptions "charms" attached carefully to the message, the name of the file attachment - SEX.EXE. When you run the "charming-sexual" executable on the computer screen appears instead of the expected kind of pre-election agitation with the surname of one of candidates for mayor of Moscow. Standard solution, which is not immediately and will deal: White PR, black or "gray" incomprehensible orientation? Kaspersky Lab unequivocally advises against entering into any relationship with this file - a normal network worm, it's not malicious. Most likely, just not very clever provocation. I recall the recent history of the struggle "worm" with "antichervem and becomes sad: that and look home computers of Russian users would be the scene of election fights. That's just not "nakarkat" would be: will the election, and flinch from any flash-SMS on the theme "To say the voice of the heart of ...!" Absolutely did not want to.
In the vast majority of cases, sending unsolicited messages occurs via the Internet, including through popular communication system ICQ. Completely disable access to Internet-SMS gateway, operators can, but then the millions of Internet users will be deprived of a convenient opportunity to send scraps to your friends. Radically solve this problem is impossible, because the presence of outsiders' access to the transmission channel SMS will still be ways to circumvent restrictions. Will have to wait relevant legislation, and while possible, do not worry about it. Still, there are some positive developments: for example, subscribers of one of the largest operator has long ceased to wake up at night by squeaking phone, get an SMS-reminder of the need to replenish your account.