Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context...

118
Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay Java, Anupam Joshi March 25, 2007

Transcript of Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context...

Page 1: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

am i

n B

log

s an

d

So

cial

Med

ia

Pra

nam

Ko

lari,

Tim

Fin

inA

ksha

y Ja

va, A

nup

am J

osh

i

March 25, 2007

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Tu

tori

al O

utl

ine

•S

pam

on

the

Inte

rnet

–V

aria

nts

–S

oci

al M

edia

Sp

am

•R

easo

n b

ehin

d S

pam

in B

log

s

•D

etec

ting

Sp

am B

log

s

•T

rend

s an

d Is

sues

•H

ow

can

you

hel

p?

•C

on

clu

sio

ns

Page 3: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Pre

sen

ters

Pra

nam

Ko

lari

is a

UM

BC

PhD

stud

ent.

His

dis

sert

atio

n is

on

spam

blo

g de

tect

ion

, with

tool

s d

evel

oped

in u

se b

oth

by

acad

emia

an

d in

dus

try.

He

has

act

ive

rese

arch

inte

rest

in

inte

rnal

cor

pora

te b

logs

, th

e S

eman

tic

Web

and

blo

g a

nal

ytic

s.

Aks

hay

Jav

a is

a U

MB

C P

hD s

tud

ent.

His

dis

sert

atio

n is

on

iden

tify-

ing

influ

ence

an

d op

inio

ns in

soci

al m

edia

. His

res

earc

h in

tere

sts

incl

ud

e bl

og a

nal

ytic

s, in

form

atio

n

retr

ieva

l, n

atur

al la

ngu

age

pro

cess

ing

an

d th

e S

eman

tic W

eb.

Tim

Fin

in is

a U

MB

C P

rofe

sso

rw

ith o

ver

30

year

s of

exp

erie

nce

in th

e ap

ply

ing

AI t

o in

form

atio

n

syst

ems,

inte

llig

ent i

nte

rfac

es a

nd

robo

tics.

Cur

ren

t in

tere

sts

incl

ud

e so

cial

m

edia

, th

e S

eman

tic W

eb a

nd m

ulti

-ag

ent s

yste

ms.

Anu

pam

Jos

hi i

s a

UM

BC

Pro

-fe

ssor

with

res

earc

h in

tere

sts

inth

e br

oad

are

a o

f net

wo

rked

com

pu

ting

an

d in

telli

gen

t sys

tem

s. H

e cu

rren

tly s

erve

s on

the

edito

rial b

oar

d of

th

e In

tern

atio

nal J

our

nal

of

the

Sem

antic

W

eb a

nd In

form

atio

n.

Page 4: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

SP

AM

!

Page 5: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

E-m

ail

Sp

am

•E

arly

form

see

n a

roun

d 1

992

with

MA

KE

M

ON

EY

FA

ST

•8

0-85

% o

f all

e-m

ail t

raffi

c is

spa

m

•In

num

ber

s

Sou

rces

: Ir

onP

ort,

Wik

iped

iaht

tp:/

/ww

w.ir

onpo

rt.c

om/c

omp

any/

ironp

ort

_pr_

200

6-06-28.

htm

l

200

5 -

(Ju

ne)

30 b

illio

n p

er d

ay2

006

-(J

une

) 55

bill

ion

per

day

200

6 -

(Dec

embe

r) 8

5 b

illio

n pe

r d

ay

200

7 -

(Feb

ruar

y) 9

0 b

illio

n p

er d

ay

Page 6: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 7: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wh

at i

s S

pam

?

•“U

nso

licite

d u

sual

ly c

om

me

rcia

l e-m

ail s

ent t

o a

lar

ge

nu

mb

er o

f ad

dre

sses

” –

Mer

riam

Web

ster

On

line

•“S

pam

min

g is

the

abu

se o

f ele

ctro

nic

mes

sag

ing

sy

stem

s to

sen

d u

nso

licite

d b

ulk

mes

sag

es,

wh

ich

ar

e al

mo

st u

niv

ersa

lly u

nd

esire

d.”

–W

ikip

edia

•A

s th

e In

tern

et h

as s

uppo

rted

new

app

licat

ions

, m

any

othe

r fo

rms

are

com

mon

, req

uirin

g a

muc

h br

oade

r de

finiti

on

Capturing user attention unjustifiably on

the Internet (E-mail, Web, Social Media

etc..)

Page 8: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Direct

Indirect

E-M

ail

Spa

m

Ge

nera

l We

b S

pam

Spa

m B

logs

(S

plog

s)

Tax

on

om

y o

f S

pam

IM S

pam

(S

PIM

)

spa

md

exin

g

Internet Spam

(Fo

rms)

(Mec

han

ism

s)

Com

mun

ity S

pam

Com

me

nt S

pam

Ta

g S

pam

Page 9: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

amd

exin

g

•C

om

pro

mis

es R

elev

ance

an

d Im

po

rtan

ce S

core

s u

sed

by

Sea

rch

En

gin

es•

Mo

stly

eff

ects

the

lon

g ta

il o

f key

wo

rds

(mo

re

susc

eptib

le)

•S

pam

in B

log

s is

a fo

rm o

f sp

amd

exin

g•

20

% o

f th

e in

dex

ed W

eb (

20

05)

“We use the term spamming (also, spamdexing) to

refer to any deliberate human action that is meant to

trigger an unjustifiably favorable relevance or importance

for a page, considering the page’s true value”

–Gyongyiet al

Page 10: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 11: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 12: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Direct

Indirect

E-M

ail

Spa

m

Ge

nera

l We

b S

pam

Spa

m B

logs

(S

plog

s)

Tax

on

om

y o

f S

pam

IM S

pam

(S

PIM

)

So

cia

l M

edia

Sp

am

Internet Spam

(Fo

rms)

(Mec

han

ism

s)

Com

mun

ity S

pam

Com

me

nt S

pam

Ta

g S

pam

Page 13: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

DIG

G S

pam

•S

ybil

atta

ck

–“i

n co

mpu

ter

secu

rity

is a

n at

tack

whe

rein

a r

eput

atio

n sy

stem

is s

ubve

rted

by

forg

ing

iden

titie

s in

pee

r-to

-pee

rne

twor

ks”

–W

ikip

edia

•U

sers

that

sel

l–

http

://us

ersu

bmitt

er.c

om $

20, p

lus

$1 p

er d

igg

–S

pike

the

vote

, site

sol

d on

eB

ay, b

ough

t by

digg

use

r,

final

ly s

hut d

own

by d

igg

–G

eekf

orlif

e, a

top

100

digg

user

, sol

d hi

s ac

coun

t fo

r $8

22

on e

Bay

•In

ad

diti

on

to d

irect

sp

am, D

IGG

po

pu

lar

pag

e al

so

resu

lts in

hig

h r

anki

ng o

n s

earc

h e

ng

ines

(S

pam

dex

ing

)

Page 14: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

“Why

Are

Peo

ple

Fas

cin

ated

By

Ph

oto

gra

phs

of C

row

ds

?”•

Au

tho

r S

ub

mits

Sto

ry•

4 h

ou

rs la

ter

on

ly o

ne D

IGG

on

the

sto

ry•

See

ks o

ut U

ser/

Su

bm

itter

•1

2 h

ou

rs la

ter

a D

IGG

Po

pu

lar

Sto

ry

Page 15: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Tag

Sp

am

•S

oci

al B

ook

mar

k T

ools

–d

el.ic

io.u

s sp

am in

lon

g ta

il

–F

url

po

pul

ar p

age

spam

•A

lso

use

d fo

r sp

amde

xing

Page 16: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 17: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

My

Blo

gL

og

Sp

am

•F

ake

Pro

file

Imag

e

•F

ake

use

rs

•F

ake

site

vis

its

•F

ake

co-a

uth

ors

•A

dd fr

ien

ds

•C

om

men

t Sp

am

Page 18: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wid

get S

pam

Adm

iratio

n S

pam

!?

Page 19: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

My

Sp

ace

Sp

am

•M

ySp

ace

is th

e (5th

) 4th

hig

hes

t vis

ited

site

•D

irect

Use

r T

arg

etin

g–

Fre

e P

rod

uct

s

–C

AM

S

Page 20: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Th

e H

oo

dia

Sca

m•

Cre

ate

an “

inte

rest

ing

” p

rofil

e•

Ag

gre

ssiv

ely

add

frie

nd

s (+

Syb

il A

ttack

s)•

Wal

l Ho

od

iaC

om

men

ts

Page 21: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Ork

ut

Sp

am

•C

om

mu

nity

Orie

nted

Sp

am e

xten

ds

acro

ss

alm

ost

all

too

ls

Page 22: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Oth

er f

orm

s o

f sp

am

It d

oes

not

take

lon

g fo

r sp

amm

ers

to e

xplo

it a

new

fo

rm

of s

oci

al m

edia

–W

iki(p

edia

) S

pam

the

wik

ipe

dia

com

mu

nity

dele

tes

spam

art

icle

s an

d p

ag

es

–G

uest

book

Spa

mye

s, s

om

e s

till h

ave

gu

est

bo

oks

an

d t

he

y attra

ct s

pa

m e

ntr

ies

–IR

C s

pam

bo

ts o

n I

RC

ch

an

nels

sen

d y

ou

un

wa

nte

d m

ess

age

s–

Sec

ond

life

spam

no

teca

rds

po

p u

p w

ith u

nw

an

ted

mess

ag

es

–T

witt

er s

pam

it a

pp

ea

red

ab

ou

t a

we

ek

afte

r T

witt

er

we

nt

big

tim

e–

Sem

antic

web

spa

mth

is o

ne

ha

s n

ot

yet

be

en

se

en

Page 23: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

amd

exin

g a

nd

its

re

lati

on

to

Blo

gs

Page 24: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 25: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

•Id

entif

y P

rofit

able

Co

nte

xts

•C

reat

e m

ulti

ple

doo

rway

pag

es (

or

blo

gs)

•S

pam

dex

do

orw

ays

–T

arge

t Rel

evan

ce S

core

s•

TF

IDF

Met

a-ta

g

–T

arge

t Im

port

ance

Sco

res

•P

ageR

ank

•(O

r) G

am

e S

po

nso

red

Sea

rch

–S

earc

h E

ngin

e A

rbitr

age

•M

on

etiz

e–

Affi

liate

Pro

gram

s–

Con

text

ual A

dver

tisem

ents

An

ato

my

of

Sp

amd

exin

g

Page 26: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Iden

tify

Pro

fita

ble

C

on

tex

ts

Page 27: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Doo

rway

Pag

e fo

r“S

tud

ent L

oan

C

on

solid

atio

n”

Page 28: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

10K

in-li

nks

!

Page 29: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 30: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Bro

wse

r Ja

vasc

ript

Red

irect

for

Use

rs

Page 31: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

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Page 32: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

“LE

AD

S”

to a

ffilia

tes

hig

hly

pro

fitab

le

Page 33: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

An

ato

my

of

Sp

amd

exin

g

Sp

am p

ages

,S

pam

Blo

gs,

Sp

am C

om

men

ts,

Gu

estb

ook

Sp

amW

ikiS

pam

SE

RP

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rch

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ines

Affi

liate

Pro

gram

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ont

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ds

ads/

affil

iate

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bitr

age

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nks

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dexJa

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t Red

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revi

ousl

y C

loak

ing]

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liate

Pro

gram

B

uye

rs

Sp

am p

ages

,S

pam

Blo

gs

[DO

OR

WA

Y]

Page 34: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wh

y B

log

s u

sed

in

Sp

amd

exin

g

•S

pam

Blo

gs

–Q

uick

ly in

dexe

d by

sea

rch

engi

nes

(pin

g se

rver

s)

–C

an b

e ho

sted

on

thir

d pa

rty

serv

ices

with

hig

h au

thor

ity a

nd

trus

t (e.

g. b

logs

pot)

–S

earc

h en

gine

s sh

ow a

hig

her

pref

eren

ce to

blo

gs –

craw

ling

and

rank

ing

•S

pam

Co

mm

ents

–In

-link

s fr

om h

igh

auth

orin

g bl

og s

ites

inde

xed

freq

uent

ly

–“n

o-fo

llow

” no

t uni

vers

ally

use

d

•In

bo

th c

ases

blo

gs p

rovi

de

quic

ker

retu

rn o

n

inve

stm

ent t

o s

pam

mer

s

Page 35: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Co

mm

ent

Sp

am i

n N

um

ber

s

Page 36: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

La

nsin

g, M

I5.

Orla

ndo,

FL

4.

San

Fra

ncis

co, C

A3.

Wa

shin

gton

DC

2.

Mou

ntai

n V

iew

, CA

1.

56%

of a

ll bl

ogs

are

splo

gs!

Sili

con

Val

ley

or S

plog

Val

ley?

Sp

log

s in

Nu

mb

ers

•S

am

ple

d w

eblo

gs.

com

du

ring

the

last

wee

k o

f Jan

uar

y

•8

.3 M

illio

n P

ing

s

•U

sed

exi

stin

g s

plog

det

ectio

n to

ols

•A

rou

nd

10%

err

or

rate

Page 37: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 38: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

auto

buy

calif

orni

aca

ncer

card

casi

noch

eap

cons

olid

atio

ncr

edit

debt

diet

disc

ount

equi

pmen

t

esta

tefin

ance

florid

afo

rexfr

eegi

ftgo

lfhe

alth

hote

linsu

ranc

eje

wel

ryla

wye

rloa

nlo

ans

med

ical

mon

eym

ortg

agene

won

line

phon

epo

kerr

enta

lsal

eso

ftwar

ete

xas

trad

ing

trav

elus

edva

catio

nvi

deo

wed

ding

Hig

h P

PC

con

text

s ar

e pr

imar

y sp

am d

river

s

Sp

log

s –

Co

nte

xt

Page 39: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Th

e B

log

ger

Ep

iso

de

Page 40: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wh

y a

re p

eop

le c

om

pla

inin

g?

•S

plo

gs

red

uce

use

r tr

ust

on

so

cial

web

ra

nkin

g, m

akin

g th

em v

isit

web

-pag

es th

ey

can

wel

l do

with

out

•S

plo

g c

onte

nt i

s of

ten

pla

gia

rized

•S

plo

gs

dem

ote

val

ue

of a

uth

entic

con

ten

t•

Sp

log

s st

eal a

dve

rtis

ing

(ref

erra

l) re

ven

ue

fro

m a

uth

entic

con

ten

t pro

duc

ers

•S

plo

gs

stre

ss th

e bl

ogo

sph

ere

infr

astr

uct

ure

•S

plo

gs

skew

res

ults

of m

arke

t res

earc

h to

ols

Page 41: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

So

urc

e o

f th

e P

rob

lem

Page 42: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

“Ho

nest

ly,

Do

yo

u th

ink

peo

ple

wh

o m

ake

$

10

k/m

on

th fro

m a

dse

nse

ma

ke b

log

s m

an

ua

lly?

C

om

e o

n, th

ey

nee

d to

ma

ke t

hem

as

fast

as

po

ssib

le. S

ave

Tim

e =

Mo

re M

on

ey!

It's

C

om

mon

SE

NS

E! H

ow

mu

ch m

on

ey

do

yo

u th

ink

you

will

sa

ve if

yo

u c

an

incr

ea

se y

ou

r w

ork

pa

ce

by

a h

un

dre

d tim

es?

Th

ink

ab

ou

t it…

“Dis

cove

r T

he A

ma

zin

g S

tea

lth

Tra

ffic

Secr

ets

In

sid

ers

Use

To

D

rive

Th

ou

san

ds

Of T

arg

ete

d

Vis

itors

To

An

y S

ite T

hey

Desi

re!”

“Ho

ly G

rail

Of A

dve

rtis

ing

... “

“Ea

sily

Do

min

ate

An

y M

ark

et,

An

yS

ea

rch

En

gin

e, A

ny

Keyw

ord

.”

Sp

log

so

ftw

are

?!

$ 19

7

Page 43: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 44: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Our

spl

og b

ait

was

pic

ked

up

and

used

by

doze

ns o

f sp

logg

ers

Page 45: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 46: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Ho

w d

o t

hes

e to

ols

wo

rk?

Page 47: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

RS

S M

agic

ian

•C

on

ten

t S

our

ce–

Pla

gia

rized

–A

rtic

le D

irec

torie

s

•C

on

ten

t Man

ipu

latio

n–

Dic

tion

ary

–W

ord

Sh

uffli

ng

–S

ente

nce

Sh

uff

ling

•M

ulti

-ling

ual S

upp

ort!

•H

ow

ever

, Pro

-sp

logg

ers

don’

t use

thes

e to

ols

Page 48: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Ch

arac

teri

stic

s o

f S

pam

(B

log

s)

Page 49: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wh

ere

do

th

ey a

pp

ear?

Update Pings

Update Pings

Ping Stream

1

2

Update Stream

Fetch Content

3

4

12

34

()

Page 50: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

No

n-B

log

pin

gs

at w

eblo

gs.

com

•N

o R

SS

Fee

ds

•N

o D

ated

En

try

, n

o c

om

men

ts

Page 51: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Key

wo

rd S

tuff

ed B

log

•‘c

ou

po

n c

od

es’,

‘ca

sin

o’

Page 52: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Po

st S

titc

hin

g•

Ex

cerp

ts s

crap

ed f

rom

oth

er s

ou

rces

Page 53: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Po

st W

eav

ing

•S

pam

Lin

ks

con

tex

tual

ly p

lace

d i

n p

ost

Page 54: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Lin

k-r

oll

sp

am

•W

ith

fu

lly

pla

gia

rize

d t

ext

Page 55: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

log

Ex

per

imen

t

•C

aptc

ha

Bre

aker

•C

ompu

ter

•C

onte

nt•

Affi

liate

Acc

oun

ts

Page 56: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 57: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Th

e S

plo

g D

etec

tio

n

pro

ble

m

Page 58: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Th

e S

plo

g D

etec

tio

n P

rob

lem

Giv

en a

blo

g id

entif

ied

by

its

UR

L X

, is

it sp

am?

Ho

w is

this

diff

eren

t fro

m o

ther

spam

det

ectio

n p

rob

lem

s?

Page 59: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wha

t and

Whe

n of

filte

ring

E-m

ail S

pam

Web

Spa

mS

ocia

l Net

wor

kS

pam

Spa

m B

logs

time

tim

e

po

sts

time

frie

nd

s

Page 60: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Con

stra

ints

on

the

Filt

er

•U

sers

•E

-ma

il S

ervi

ceP

rovi

de

r

E-m

ail S

pam

Web

Spa

mS

ocia

l Net

wor

kS

pam

Spa

m B

logs

•S

earc

h E

ng

ines

•P

age

Ho

stin

g

Ser

vice

s (e

g. T

ripo

d)

•W

eb S

earc

h E

ng

ines

•B

log

Sea

rch

En

gin

es•

Blo

g H

ost

ing

Ser

vice

s•

(Pin

g S

erve

rs)

•C

om

mu

nity

Site

s

Who

act

ivel

y us

es it

?

•F

ast

Det

ectio

n•

Low

Ove

rhea

d•

On

line

•B

atch

De

tect

ion

•M

ost

ly O

fflin

e•

Fas

t D

etec

tion

•Lo

w O

verh

ead

•F

ast

Det

ectio

n•

Bat

ch D

ete

ctio

n

Page 61: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Adv

ersa

rial A

ttack

s on

the

Filt

erE

-mai

l Spa

mW

eb S

pam

Soc

ial N

etw

ork

Spa

mS

pam

Blo

gs

•Im

age

Sp

am

•C

har

acte

r R

epla

cem

ent

•S

crip

ts•

Do

orw

ays

•S

crip

ts•

Do

orw

ays

•D

ecep

tive

Beh

avio

r

•D

ecep

tive

Beh

avio

r

Page 62: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Det

ecti

on

Bac

kg

rou

nd

•P

re-in

dex

ing

at P

ing

Str

eam

•P

ost

-inde

xing

•B

lack

lists

/Wh

itelis

ts

•U

RL

Bas

ed F

eatu

res

•H

ome-

Pag

e B

ased

Fea

ture

s

•F

eed

Bas

ed F

eatu

res

(Tem

pora

l)

•Li

nk B

ased

Fea

ture

s

Page 63: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Det

ecti

on

Bac

kg

rou

nd

Filt

ers

dep

loye

d o

n P

ing

Str

eam

s (t

ypic

ally

)..

Page 64: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Det

ecti

on

Ap

pro

ach

esth

at W

ork

Page 65: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 66: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

IP B

ased

Bla

ckli

sts

•In

tuiti

on

: Mo

st s

elf-

ho

sted

blo

gs

are

tied

to

“sp

amm

er-f

rien

dly”

dom

ain

host

ing

ser

vice

s

•M

ap P

ing

UR

L’s

to IP

Add

ress

es

•R

ank

IP A

ddre

sses

by

ho

sted

blo

gs

•P

ick

the

top

100

(sa

y)–

Ran

do

mly

sam

ple

for

a su

bse

t of b

logs

–V

erify

no

fals

e p

osi

tives

–A

dd

IP to

Bla

cklis

t

•A

ctiv

ely

use

d by

a2

b.cc

and

man

y o

ther

s

Page 67: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Pin

g S

trea

m a

t W

eblo

gs.

com

Mod

els

over

na

me

and

UR

L va

lues

can

be v

ery

effe

ctiv

e

Page 68: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Reg

ex F

ilte

rs o

n (

Nam

e) U

RL

•T

he

Blo

gsp

ot“

?” fi

lter

•T

he

hyp

hen

filte

r

•..

and

man

y m

ore

•V

ery

effe

ctiv

e an

d fa

st

•A

rea

ctiv

e m

easu

re

•A

ctiv

e S

upe

rvis

ion

•H

igh

ly s

usc

eptib

le to

Ad

vers

aria

l Atta

cks

Page 69: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Pin

g S

trea

m a

t W

eblo

gs.

com

Tex

t tok

en b

ase

d fe

atur

es

over

na

me

and

UR

L ca

nbe

ver

y ef

fect

ive

Page 70: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

UR

L *

On

ly*

Fea

ture

s

•In

tuiti

on

: Sp

amm

ers

targ

et s

earc

h e

ngin

es

thro

ugh

co

nte

xt r

ich

UR

Ls•

No

pag

e fe

tch

es –

can

be

very

fast

•T

ech

niq

ues

vary

–H

ow

are

UR

Ls s

egm

ente

d

•H

yphe

ns, f

orw

ard

slas

hes

etc.

.•

Sup

ervi

sed

Seg

men

tatio

n T

echn

ique

•C

hara

cter

N-g

ram

s

–H

ow

are

det

ectio

n m

od

els

con

stru

cted

•S

VM

s•

Bay

esia

n F

ilter

s

Page 71: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

No

vel

UR

L S

egm

enta

tio

n

•M

otiv

atio

n: S

pam

mer

s g

lue

wo

rds

in U

RL

•Le

arn

Seg

men

tatio

n u

sing

sp

amm

ing

con

text

s as

pro

pose

d b

y S

alve

ttiet

al

Sal

vetti

et a

l

http

://di

etst

hatw

ork.

blog

spot

.com

http diet

stha

twor

k

blog

spot co

mht

tp

diet

sth

atw

ork

blog

spot

com

Naï

ve A

ppro

ach

Enh

ance

d A

ppro

ach

Page 72: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

No

vel

UR

L S

egm

enta

tio

n

•T

rain

a B

ayes

ian

Cla

ssifi

er (

10K

+, 1

0K -

)

•1

k te

st s

amp

les

•F

-mea

sure

76

% s

pam

, 79

% a

uth

entic

•H

uman

Bas

elin

e 7

3%

spa

m, 7

8%

au

then

tic

•C

lass

ifier

bea

ts h

uman

s w

hen

iden

tifyi

ng s

pam

u

sing

UR

Ls a

lone

!

Page 73: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

UR

L+

Nam

e

blo

gdr

ive

web

log

indi

atim

esp

ublic

nam

ep

odca

stra

dio

topi

xd

irect

ory

info

med

ical

rent

alfo

rex

insu

ran

cew

eddi

ngse

oau

toch

ann

el

•S

VM

bas

ed a

pp

roac

h•

Han

d V

erif

ied

Sam

ple

s o

f 2K

sp

am

UR

Ls a

nd

2K

au

then

tic U

RLs

fro

m

pin

g s

erve

r

•N

-ch

arac

ter

gra

m to

ken

izat

ion

•Li

nea

r K

ern

el•

Bin

ary

Fea

ture

s

•F

-mea

sure

~ 9

0%

pro

gram

bra

nd

con

sum

erto

day

use

rsjo

urn

alb

log

blo

gsp

otty

pep

ad

do

mai

nan

swer

gro

ups

ford

acn

ere

view

slo

ansh

are

hoo

dia

Page 74: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Blo

g H

om

e-P

age

Bas

ed F

eatu

res

•In

tuiti

on

: Hom

e-P

age

can

pro

vid

e a

goo

d

snap

sho

t of a

blo

g (

mo

st r

ecen

t po

sts)

, and

als

o

cap

ture

s b

log-

rolls

and

link

-ro

lls

•O

nly

one

pag

e fe

tch

per

UR

L –

can

be

very

fast

•T

ech

niq

ues

vary

by

sele

cted

feat

ure

s–

Bag

-of-

wo

rds

–B

ag-o

f-to

ken

ized

-ou

tlin

ks

–T

ext C

om

pre

ssio

n

Page 75: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Scr

aped

con

tent

typi

cally

lack

s th

e pe

rson

al n

atur

e of

blo

g po

sts

Page 76: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Bag

-of-

Wo

rds

Fea

ture

•S

VM

bas

ed m

od

el–

Bin

ary

Fea

ture

s–

Line

ar K

erne

l

•H

and

ver

ified

trai

ning

set

of b

log

s an

d s

plo

gs

–70

0 bl

ogs

and

700

splo

gs•

F m

easu

re ~

88

%

we

wh

atw

asm

yo

rgfli

ckr

pap

erw

ord

s

find

info

new

syo

ur

anot

her

web

site

bes

tar

ticle

s

web

log

mo

tion

me

than

kg

oja

nu

ary

trac

kbac

kar

chiv

es

per

fect

pro

duct

su

nca

tego

rize

dh

otre

sou

rces

inc

thre

eco

pyr

ight

Page 77: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Bag

-of-

2-W

ord

s F

eatu

re 2-c

om

men

tsto

-th

eit-

was

also

-ad

ded

1-c

om

men

t3

-co

mm

ents

com

men

ts-o

ffin

-un

cate

goriz

edca

tego

ries-

unca

tego

rized

new

-yo

rk

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eatu

res

crea

ted

usi

ng tw

o

adja

cen

t wo

rds

•Le

ss s

usc

eptib

le to

ad

vers

aria

l at

tack

s•

SV

M b

ased

mo

del

–B

inar

y F

eatu

res

–Li

near

Ker

nel

•F

mea

sure

~ 8

6%

Page 78: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Bag

-of-

UR

L T

ok

ens

Fea

ture

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eatu

res

con

stru

cted

by

toke

niz

ing

ou

tgo

ing

UR

Ls

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imila

r to

(ea

rlier

) U

RL

on

ly m

ode

ls b

ut c

aptu

res

mor

e co

ntex

t–

UR

L to

ken

s in

the b

adge

cr

azy

blo

gosp

her

e

–D

efau

lt W

ord

pre

ss L

inks

•F

-mea

sure

~ 8

2%

tech

nora

tifli

ckr

feed

bur

ner

blo

gro

llin

g… d

oug

alb

oren

zed

1p

hoto

mat

t

Page 79: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Mo

re H

om

e-P

age

Bas

ed F

eatu

res

•W

e ha

ve b

een

expe

rimen

ting

with

mul

tiple

app

roac

hes

•D

atas

et a

vaila

ble

at:

–ht

tp://

ebiq

uity

.um

bc.e

du/r

esou

rce/

htm

l/id/

212

Page 80: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Pos

t 1 fr

om a

Spa

m B

log

onF

orex

.. T

radi

ng

Page 81: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Pos

t 2 fr

om th

e sa

me

Sp

am B

log

on F

orex

.. T

rad

ing

Page 82: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Tem

po

ral

Reg

ula

riti

es

•In

tuiti

on

: Sp

log

s fe

atur

e h

igh

ly c

orre

late

d

con

ten

t acr

oss

mul

tiple

po

sts

(tex

t, ou

t-lin

ks

etc.

.)

•Li

n e

t al h

ave

pro

po

sed

and

an

alyz

ed u

sefu

l m

etric

s to

iden

tify

such

cor

rela

tion

s

•T

wo

fetc

hes

per

UR

L –

can

exp

loit

stru

ctur

ed

feed

en

trie

s

•P

reci

sio

n ~

86

%, R

ecal

l ~ 4

7%

Page 83: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Oth

er f

eatu

res

that

wo

rk

•O

utg

oin

g A

ncho

rs

•C

har

acte

r N

-gra

ms

and

Wor

d N

-gra

ms

•N

amed

En

tity

Rat

io

•T

ext C

ompr

essi

on R

atio

•P

rono

un E

ntit

y R

atio

Page 84: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Det

ecti

on

Ap

pro

ach

esth

at c

ou

ld a

lso

Wo

rk

Page 85: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Pin

g t

imes

–It

alia

n B

log

s

Page 86: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

ing

vs.

Pin

g t

imes

Page 87: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

ing

s v

s. P

ing

s: f

req

uen

cyb

log

s v

s. t

hei

r p

ing

fre

qu

ency

fo

llo

ws

a p

ow

er

law

, bu

t sp

log

s v

s. s

pin

gs

do

es n

ot

Page 88: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

http

://w

ww

.en

gad

get.c

om

19

42

http

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ww

.hu

ffin

gto

npo

st.c

om

/th

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g9

05

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ww

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oks

and

liars

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m6

37

http

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logs

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ard

ian.

co.u

k/n

ew

s

616

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ww

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ee

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m/w

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6

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ace

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sn.c

om

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ers

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ny-

girl

50

5ht

tp://

spac

es.

msn

.co

m/m

em

be

rs/b

lack

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s

505

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ace

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sn.c

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put

ee

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5

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e-s

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spac

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be

rs/fi

rst-

time

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l 5

05

Top

5

Top

5

Sp

log

s v

s. B

log

s –

In-d

egre

e

Page 89: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

log

s v

s. B

log

s –

Ou

t-d

egre

eht

tp://

ww

w.x

ang

a.co

m/h

om

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px?

use

r=hi

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e_la

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73

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ww

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com

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asp

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.co

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1

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com

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0

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om

89

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Top

5

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5

Page 90: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

log

Pro

tect

ion

–G

lob

al

•T

est s

et o

f 70

0 a

uth

entic

blo

gs a

nd

70

0 s

plo

gs

•In

-link

s fr

om

Tec

hn

ora

ti •

Ou

t-lin

ks fr

om

blo

g-h

om

e p

age

•La

bel

ed in

-lin

ks/o

ut-

links

to b

e a

blo

g, s

plo

g, n

ew

s si

te, o

ther

web

site

•3

feat

ure

-typ

es tr

ain

ed u

sing

SV

Ms

–In

-link

dis

trib

utio

n–

Out

-link

dis

trib

utio

n–

Co-

cita

tion

dist

ribut

ion

•F

-mea

sure

~ 8

0%

Page 91: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Su

mm

ary

of

Ex

isti

ng

Tec

hn

iqu

es

•L

oca

l P

rop

erti

es w

ill

con

tin

ue

to h

old

th

e k

ey –F

ast

–L

ow

Co

st

–C

an

be

easi

ly i

nco

rpo

rate

d i

nto

blo

g h

arv

esti

ng

(c

raw

lin

g)

•G

lob

al T

ech

niq

ues

res

tric

ted

by

co

ver

age

–L

ess

Eff

ecti

ve

to B

log

Sea

rch

En

gin

es

–C

on

tin

ue

to b

e ef

fect

ive

for

web

sea

rch

en

gin

es

Page 92: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

BLACKLISTS

WHITELISTS

BLACKLISTS

WHITELISTS

TEMPORAL

MODEL

TEMPORAL

MODEL

TEXT

MODEL

TEXT

MODEL

REGEX

REGEX

URL

MODEL

URL

MODEL

Pin

g S

trea

m

Ch

eck

wit

h

know

n b

log

s an

d s

plo

gs

Ch

eck

know

nre

gex

p

atte

rns

Use

mo

del

s o

ver

text

of

UR

L

Use

mo

del

s o

ver

Blo

g

ho

me-

pag

e

Use

mo

del

s o

ver

po

st

corr

elat

ion

Ho

w T

ech

niq

ues

are

Use

d

Incr

easi

ng

co

st

Page 93: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Eli

min

atio

n A

pp

roac

hes

(M

ost

Do

n’t

Wo

rk)

Page 94: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

“So

, wh

ats

that

me

an f

or

the

cu

rren

t u

sers

? It

me

ans

th

at w

e h

ave

a fe

w t

hin

gs

to ir

on

ou

t. W

e ar

e w

ork

ing

on

the

m s

afa

st

as p

oss

ible

. It

will

insu

re t

hat

we

do

nth

ave

thes

e is

sues

go

ing

fo

rwar

d in

the

fu

ture

an

d h

ave

a s

olid

so

lutio

n. “

SP

LOG

RE

PO

RT

ER

ST

AT

US

= R

ED

“D

ue

to la

ck o

f res

ourc

es, m

ainl

y tim

e, w

e h

ave

dec

ided

to p

urs

ue

oth

er o

ther

web

2.0

inte

rest

s. W

e h

ad a

goo

d r

un a

nd

app

reci

ate

ever

yon

e w

ho s

upp

orte

d th

e sp

log

fig

htin

g m

ove

men

t. W

e h

ave

dec

ided

to k

eep

the

site

up

so

as

not t

o "

brea

k th

e w

eb"

and

all

the

links

to th

e si

te. I

f any

on

e is

inte

rest

ed in

acq

uirin

g S

plo

g R

epor

ter

ple

ase

cont

act u

s.”

FIG

HT

ING

SP

LO

G

Page 95: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Elim

inat

ing

Sp

logs

dep

ends

dire

ctly

on

b

lack

listin

g by

sea

rch

eng

ines

, co

nte

xtua

l ad

vert

isem

ent a

nd a

ffilia

tes.

Sp

log

gers

hav

e n

o m

ore

ince

ntiv

e to

ho

st s

uch

blo

gs

and

ty

pic

ally

brin

g it

do

wn

.

... a

rat

her

slo

w e

limin

atio

n p

roce

ss.

Page 96: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Ho

w S

plo

gs

Eff

ect

Blo

g A

nal

yti

cs

Page 97: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Nat

ure

of S

plog

s in

TR

EC

200

6

•A

roun

d 83

K id

entif

iab

le b

log

s in

the

colle

ctio

n, w

ith 3

.2M

per

mal

inks

•W

e id

entif

ied

13,5

42

splo

gs

•B

lack

liste

d 5

43K

per

mal

inks

from

thes

e sp

log

s

•T

his

acc

oun

ts to

16

% o

f th

e en

tire

colle

ctio

n

•R

esu

lts ta

lly in

% to

TR

EC

dat

aset

(M

acdo

nald

et a

l 200

6)

Page 98: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Impa

ct o

f Spl

ogs

in T

RE

C Q

uerie

s

Dis

trib

uti

on

of

Sp

log

s th

at

ap

pe

ar

TR

EC

qu

eri

es

020406080100

120

51

01

52

02

53

03

54

04

55

05

56

06

57

07

58

08

59

09

51

00

To

p 1

00

Se

arc

h R

esu

lts

ran

ke

d u

sin

g T

FID

F S

cori

ng

Number of Splogs

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

894

895

896

897

Am

eric

an I

do

l

Ch

ole

ster

ol

Hy

bri

d C

ars

Page 99: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Hig

her

in S

pam

Pro

ne C

onte

xts

Sp

log

Dis

trib

uti

on

fo

r 'S

pa

m T

erm

s'

020406080100

120

510

1520

2530

3540

4550

5560

6570

7580

8590

9510

0

Se

arc

h R

esu

lt R

an

k

Number of Splogs

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Sp

am q

uer

y t

erm

s b

ased

on

an

aly

sis

by

McD

on

ald

et

al 2

006

..

Car

d

Inte

rest

Mo

rtg

ag

e

Page 100: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Inp

ut

fro

m G

rou

ps

Dea

lin

g w

ith

Sp

log

s

Page 101: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

NE

C –

Blo

g A

nal

yti

cs•

Whe

n di

d yo

u st

art s

eein

g sp

am?

in

200

5 –

on b

log

sear

ch

engi

ne r

esul

ts.

•H

ow

muc

h sp

am?

(in p

erce

nts)

rou

ghly

25%

of t

op

retr

ieva

l res

ults

•Is

it in

crea

sing

/dec

reas

ing?

in

crea

sing

•H

ow

are

you

tack

ling

it? a

nd H

ow m

uch

effo

rt g

oes

into

it?

defin

itely

my

team

con

side

rs th

is a

n im

port

ant r

esear

ch

effo

rt. I

n te

rms

of p

erso

n-hr

s, a

t lea

st 2

080

in 2

006•

Do

you

have

any

new

arc

hite

ctur

es/fr

amew

orks

/initi

ativ

es?

Y

es –

wor

k pu

blic

ly a

vaila

ble

•W

hat w

ould

you

wan

t res

earc

hers

to a

ddre

ss?

te

mpo

ral a

nd

stru

ctur

al p

rope

rtie

s•

Wha

t are

futu

re tr

ends

? colla

bora

tive

splo

g de

tect

ion

Page 102: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Sp

her

e –

Blo

g S

earc

h•

Wh

en d

id y

ou s

tart

see

ing

sp

am?

La

te 2

005.

Lat

e su

mm

er o

f 200

2 co

uple

of y

ears

han

d ed

ited

blac

k lis

ts, U

RL

patte

rn fil

terin

g•

Ho

w m

uch

sp

am

? (in

per

cent

s) b

ig n

on-b

log

cate

gory

, aro

und

70%

fr

om w

eblo

gs.c

om,

•Is

it in

crea

sin

g/d

ecre

asin

g? No

sign

ifica

nt c

hang

e•

Ho

w a

re y

ou

tack

ling

it?

an

d H

ow

mu

ch e

ffort

go

es

into

it?

Aro

und

4160

pe

rson

-hrs

•A

ny

mes

sag

e(b

lurb

s) to

the

ICW

SM

au

die

nce

?

"At S

pher

e, w

e're

an

alyz

ing

the

mec

hani

sms

used

by

splo

gs a

nd fi

ndin

g d

etec

tabl

e si

gnat

ures

that

can

be

appl

ied

to v

ery

larg

e da

tasets

. It'

s ou

rco

nten

tion

that

ava

ilabl

e to

ols

and

prot

ocol

s m

ust n

eces

saril

y lim

it th

e st

rate

gies

ava

ilabl

e to

suc

cess

ful s

plog

gers

. W

hile

that

set

of

stra

tegi

es c

ontin

ues

to g

row

, we'

re c

ontin

ually

inno

vatin

g to

find

ne

w a

nd e

ffect

ive

way

s of

det

ectin

g th

ose

str

ateg

ies

, sup

pres

sing

sp

am, a

nd k

eepi

ng th

e bl

ogos

pher

e a

rich,

eas

ily n

avi

gabl

e un

iver

se

of in

form

atio

n"

Page 103: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Bu

zzM

etri

cs –

Blo

g A

nal

yti

cs•

Wh

en d

id y

ou

star

t see

ing

sp

am?

In e

arly

200

5, w

e st

arte

d to

see

the

#spa

m

blog

s an

d pi

ngs

from

non

-web

logs

sou

rces

ram

p ou

t rapid

ly.

•H

ow

mu

ch s

pam

? (

in p

erce

nts)

The

re's

a b

ig r

ange

, dep

ends

on

the

day.

The

re c

an b

e huge

spa

m a

ttack

s on

som

e da

ys. F

or to

day,

for

exam

ple:

15%

spa

m a

nd 3

0%

non

-blo

g (b

ut

toda

y's

15%

spa

m n

umbe

r is

on

the

low

sid

e) .

Thi

s do

esn't i

nclu

de o

ther

ki

nds

of b

ad p

ings

: dup

licat

es, o

ut-d

ated

, urls

that

are fo

rbid

den

or h

ave

no d

ata

•Is

it in

crea

sing

/dec

reas

ing?

It'

s in

crea

sing

in a

bsol

ute

coun

ts, j

ust l

ike

the

tota

l num

ber

of w

eblo

gs e

ver

crea

ted

is in

crea

sing

.How

ever

, in

term

s of

th

e nu

mbe

r of

act

ive

spam

web

logs

, it's

fairl

y co

nsta

nt, j

ust l

ike

the

num

ber

of a

ctiv

e E

nglis

h-la

ngua

ge w

eblo

gs is

fairl

y fla

t now

.

•D

o y

ou

hav

e an

y n

ew a

rchi

tect

ures

/fram

ewo

rks/

initi

ativ

es?

O

ur a

rchi

tect

ure

is in

pla

ce a

nd w

orki

ng w

ell.

Page 104: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Bu

zzM

etri

cs –

Blo

g A

nal

yti

cs•

Wh

at w

oul

d yo

u w

ant r

esea

rch

ers

to a

ddre

ss?

-

The

re is

a m

inor

ity o

f sop

hist

icat

ed s

pam

mer

s th

at crea

te s

leep

er s

pam

bl

ogs

that

look

just

like

reg

ular

blo

gs a

nd th

en m

onths

late

r st

art l

inki

ng

to a

ffilia

te s

ites.

How

to c

atch

thes

e ea

rly?

-H

ow to

det

ect r

epur

pose

d bl

og c

onte

nt (

dow

nrig

ht p

lagia

rism

eith

er fo

r us

e in

spa

m b

log

or s

impl

y fo

r th

e ag

e-ol

d re

ason

of bu

ildin

g on

e's

own

repu

tatio

n on

fals

e pr

emis

es).

-

Spa

m in

fore

ign

lang

uage

s: s

truc

tura

l sim

ilarit

ies/

diffe

renc

es/e

xten

t of

the

prob

lem

?

•W

hat

are

futu

re tr

end

s?

-P

ayF

orP

ostt

ype

serv

ices

: in-

post

adv

ertis

emen

ts th

at ind

istin

guis

habl

e fr

om b

logg

er c

onte

nt a

nd m

ay o

r m

ay n

ot b

e di

sclo

sed =>

nee

d fo

rsp

am

dete

ctio

n at

the

post

leve

l ins

tead

of s

impl

y at

the b

log

leve

l;ne

ed to

filte

r ou

t/dis

coun

t pos

ts w

heth

er th

an e

ntire

blo

gs.

Page 105: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Wh

at N

ext?

Ad

ver

sari

al

Cla

ssif

ica

tio

n

Page 106: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 107: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Ad

ver

sari

al C

lass

ific

atio

n

•A

ll fo

rms

of s

pam

det

ectio

n fi

t in

to a

gen

eral

cl

ass

of c

lass

ifica

tion

prob

lem

–C

lass

ifica

tion

is c

on

sid

ered

a “

gam

e”

bet

wee

n

clas

sifie

r an

d a

dve

rsar

y

–A

dve

rsar

ies

adap

t to

eva

de

filte

rs

•Its

cle

ar th

at a

cla

ssifi

er h

as to

lear

n to

cla

ssi

fy

new

form

s o

f sp

am–

Up

dat

e tr

ain

ing

set

s

–Id

entif

y n

ew d

etec

tion

tech

niq

ues

Page 108: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

“New

Nic

he”

Upd

ate

Tra

inin

g S

ets,

Use

La

ngua

ge In

depe

nden

tT

echn

ique

s

Page 109: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Blo

gsp

ot

“1”

tech

niq

ue

•A

form

of s

pam

blo

g th

at s

eem

s to

be

quite

co

mm

on o

n b

log

ger

–C

reat

e 1

po

st–

Use

blo

g a

s d

oo

rway

•F

ilter

s fin

d it

diff

icu

lt to

det

ect s

pam

with

out

avo

idin

g fa

lse

posi

tives

•S

and

boxi

ng

tech

niq

ue u

sed

by

blo

g s

earc

h

eng

ines

•T

ech

niq

ue w

ill g

o o

ut o

f fas

hio

n o

nce

web

se

arch

eng

ines

use

sim

ilar

stra

teg

ies

Page 110: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Blo

gspo

t“1”

tech

niqu

e

Page 111: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

No

n-E

ng

lish

Sp

log

s

•A

re s

plo

gs

appe

arin

g in

Non

-Eng

lish

?–

No

t yet

?

–S

een

man

y ca

ses

of s

pam

blo

gs

in J

apan

ese

•C

reat

ing

trai

ning

exa

mp

les

for

mu

ltip

le

lang

uag

es n

ot f

easi

ble

•Id

entif

yin

g la

ngu

age

ind

epen

den

t tec

hniq

ues

th

at c

aptu

re s

tere

oty

pes

in s

plo

g cr

eate

too

ls

will

be

impo

rtan

t

Page 112: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Oth

er R

equ

irem

ents

•E

valu

atio

n o

f effe

ctiv

enes

s o

f filt

ers

–G

ener

ic P

reci

sion

and

Rec

all

–P

reci

sio

n a

nd

Rec

all w

ith a

wh

en?

•C

on

tinu

ed Q

oS

gua

ran

tees

in a

n a

dver

saria

l se

tting

–M

eth

od

olog

y–

Se

mi-a

uto

mat

ic te

chn

iqu

es

•M

eth

odol

ogy

for

ove

rall

mai

nte

nan

ce o

f th

e fil

ter

Page 113: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

BLACKLISTS

WHITELISTS

BLACKLISTS

WHITELISTS

RSS

MODEL

RSS

MODEL

TEXT

MODEL

TEXT

MODEL

REGEX

REGEX

URL

MODEL

URL

MODEL

Pin

g S

trea

m

Ch

eck

wit

h

know

n b

log

s an

d s

plo

gs

Ch

eck

know

nre

gex

p

atte

rns

Use

mo

del

s o

ver

text

of

UR

L

Use

mo

del

s o

ver

Blo

g

ho

me-

pag

e

Use

mo

del

s o

ver

po

st

corr

elat

ion

Pro

cess

Lo

gs

Co

mm

un

ity

In

pu

t

LEA

RN

ER

Fee

db

ack

Con

tinui

ng W

ork

Page 114: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously
Page 115: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Co

ncl

usi

on

Page 116: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Co

ncl

usi

on

•T

rend

s su

gges

t tha

t the

pro

ble

m o

f sp

log

s w

ill

con

tinu

e

•R

esea

rch

nee

ds

to c

ontin

ue

iden

tifyi

ng

new

d

etec

tion

tech

niq

ues

•T

he

com

mun

ity h

as to

inco

rpo

rate

co

llab

orat

ive

tech

niq

ues

for

det

ectio

n

•R

esea

rch

nee

ds

to u

nder

stan

d fil

ter

evo

lutio

n in

a

mo

re p

rinci

ple

d w

ay

Page 117: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Res

ou

rces

•h

ttp://

icw

sm-b

log-

spam

.blo

gsp

ot.c

om/

–F

or

(to

o)

late

bre

akin

g r

eso

urc

es fo

r th

is tu

toria

l

•h

ttp://

pla

net

.so

cial

Med

iaR

esea

rch

.org

/–

A fe

ed a

gg

reg

ato

r fo

r b

log

s re

leva

nt t

o s

oci

al m

edia

–S

ug

ges

t new

blo

gs

to

pla

net-

smr@

cs.u

mb

c.ed

u

•h

ttp://

sus.

pic

iou

s.in

fo/

–P

roto

typ

e sp

am r

epo

rtin

g s

ervi

ce

•h

ttp://

ebiq

uity

.um

bc.

edu

/mem

eta/

reso

urce

s/–

Blo

g a

nd

sp

log

dat

aset

s, b

iblio

gra

ph

y, e

tc.

Page 118: Spam in Blogs and Social Media Pranam Kolari, Tim Finin Akshay … · Affiliate Programs Context Ads ads/affiliate links arbitrage in-links spamdex JavaScript Redirect [Previously

Dis

cuss

ion