Spam Kings

by McWilliams, Brian

• ISBN13: 9780596007324
• ISBN10: 0596007329
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-30
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

This fascinating book reveals the dramatic cat-and-mouse game played by spam entrepreneurs in search of easy fortunes, and those who are trying to keep the Internet safe for email. Spam Kings chronicles the evolution of Davis Wolfgang Hawke, a notorious neo-Nazi leader and chess master who got into junk email in 1999. Using the colourful and enigmatic Hawke as a case study, the narrative traces his rise in the spam trade. Spam Kings offers unusually candid profiles of other major spam kingpins responsible for the junk email problem, and describes the tricks of their trade. The book also reveals the behind-the-scenes actions of anti-spam vigilantes, including a powerful, largely anonymous group known as Spamhaus.

Author Biography

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

introduction	xi
chapter one	1	(26)
Birth of a Spam King	1	(7)
The Education of an Anti-Spammer	8	(6)
Ho, Ho, Ho, the Nazis Didn't Show	14	(7)
Spamford Meets Hacker-X	21	(6)
chapter two	27	(24)
Hawke Mails the Web Manual	27	(7)
Shiksaa, the Spammer Tracker	34	(6)
Shiksaa Plays Peacemaker	40	(6)
Hawke's Publishing Company in a Box	46	(5)
chapter three	51	(24)
Shiksaa Meets the Cyanide Idiot	51	(5)
Hawke Concedes to an Anti	56	(6)
A Date with a Spam Queen	62	(8)
Bubba Catts and the Crank Callers	70	(5)
chapter four	75	(20)
Spamhaus Takes on Sue You Net	75	(5)
Shiksaa and the Pink Contracts	80	(4)
Mad Pierre's Homage to Shiksaa	84	(11)
chapter five	95	(30)
Tracking Empire Towers	95	(9)
Terri Tickle Descends on Nanae	104	(6)
Hawke Rips Off Dr. Fatburn	110	(8)
David D'Amato, the Titanic Spammer	118	(7)
chapter six	125	(24)
Nanae Battles over Block Lists	125	(8)
Hawke Takes on an Apprentice	133	(6)
9/11	139	(6)
Hawke Tutors Bournival	145	(4)
chapter seven	149	(24)
Shiksaa Meets Scott Richter	149	(7)
Hawke Goes Home to Rhode Island	156	(6)
Hoffman Catches Tom Cowles	162	(11)
chapter eight	173	(28)
Amazing Internet Products	173	(13)
Fighting Dr. Fatburn	186	(15)
chapter nine	201	(26)
The Shiksaa Shakedown	201	(17)
Patricia's Graveyard Gambit	218	(3)
Creampie Productions	221	(6)
chapter ten	227	(42)
The Pinacle Partnership Program	227	(5)
Rise of the Spam Zombies	232	(5)
Jason Vale Held in Contempt	237	(8)
The Time-Travel Spammer	245	(7)
Karen Hoffmann, Sock Puppet	252	(7)
Richter Unravels	259	(10)
chapter eleven	269	(26)
CAN-SPAM	269	(6)
Shiksaa Hangs Up Her LART	275	(2)
The Phoenix Company	277	(7)
AOL v. Davis Hawke et al.	284	(7)
The Gingerbread Man	291	(4)
epilogue	295	(6)
glossary	301	(8)
notes	309	(12)
acknowledgments	321	(2)
index	323