Spam Kings: The Real Story Behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements

by Brian S McWilliams

Overview

"People are stupid, Davis Wolfgang Hawke thought as he stared at the nearly empty box of Swastika pendants on his desk." So begins Spam Kings, an investigative look into the shady world of email spammers and the people trying to stop them.

This compelling exposé explores the shadowy world of the people responsible for today’s junk-email epidemic. Investigative journalist Brian McWilliams delivers a fascinating account of the cat-and-mouse game played by spam entrepreneurs in search of easy fortunes and anti-spam activists.

McWilliams chronicles the activities of several spam kings, including Hawke, a notorious Jewish-born neo-Nazi leader. You’ll follow this 20-year-old’s rise in the trade, where he became a major player in the lucrative penis pill market—a business that would make him a millionaire and the target of lawsuits. You’ll also meet cyber-vigilantes, such as Susan Gunn, who have taken up the fight against spammers like Hawke.

Explore the sleazy spammer business practices, the surprising new partnership between spammers and computer hackers, and the rise of a new breed of computer viruses designed to turn the PCs of innocent bystanders into secret spam factories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781491913796
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/09/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	372
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Brian McWilliams has been reporting on business and technology issues for over twenty years. His articles have appeared in online publications such as Wired.com and Salon.com as well as in magazines including PC World, Computerworld, InformationWeek, CFO, Across the Board, and Inc. McWilliams gained international attention in 2002 when he wrote about the contents of Saddam Hussein's email inbox.

Table of Contents

Dedication; Acknowledgment; Introduction; Chapter 1: ; 1.1 Birth of a Spam King; 1.2 The Education of an Anti-Spammer; 1.3 Ho, Ho, Ho, the Nazis Didn't Show; 1.4 Spamford Meets Hacker-X; Chapter 2: ; 2.1 Hawke Mails the Web Manual; 2.2 Shiksaa, the Spammer Tracker; 2.3 Shiksaa Plays Peacemaker; 2.4 Hawke's Publishing Company in a Box; Chapter 3: ; 3.1 Shiksaa Meets the Cyanide Idiot; 3.2 Hawke Concedes to an Anti; 3.3 A Date with a Spam Queen; 3.4 Bubba Catts and the Crank Callers; Chapter 4: ; 4.1 Spamhaus Takes on Sue You Net; 4.2 Shiksaa and the Pink Contracts; 4.3 Mad Pierre's Homage to Shiksaa; Chapter 5: ; 5.1 Tracking Empire Towers; 5.2 Terri Tickle Terri Tickle Descends on Nanae; 5.3 Hawke Rips Off Dr. Fatburn; 5.4 David D'Amato, the Titanic Spammer; Chapter 6: ; 6.1 Nanae Battles over Block Lists; 6.2 Hawke Takes on an Apprentice; 6.3 9/11; 6.4 Hawke Tutors Bournival; Chapter 7: ; 7.1 Shiksaa Meets Scott Richter; 7.2 Hawke Goes Home to Rhode Island; 7.3 Hoffman Catches Tom Cowles; Chapter 8: ; 8.1 Amazing Internet Products; 8.2 Fighting Dr. Fatburn; Chapter 9: ; 9.1 The Shiksaa Shakedown; 9.2 Patricia's Graveyard Gambit; 9.3 Creampie Productions; Chapter 10: ; 10.1 The Pinacle Partnership Program; 10.2 Rise of the Spam Zombies; 10.3 Jason Vale Held in Contempt; 10.4 The Time-Travel Spammer; 10.5 Karen Hoffmann, Sock Puppet; 10.6 Richter Unravels; Chapter 11: ; 11.1 CAN-SPAM; 11.2 Shiksaa Hangs Up Her LART; 11.3 The Phoenix Company; 11.4 AOL v. Davis Hawke et al. AOL v. Davis Hawke et al.; 11.5 The Gingerbread Man; Epilogue; Glossary;