Archive for May 5th, 2009

Image Spam

Posted by Bloggylife in technology on May 5, 2009

Of all the emails we receive within 24 hours, around 95 % is spam! Of course we deploy a mail filter to go through all these emails and pass the legitimate ones only.

Now we are introduced to some emails that are clearly spam but get through, you’ll see the email with an image attachment of Viagra products for example.

If your filter box is text based, it won’t detect this kind of spam, the image spam. A brief overall description, of how a message is considered valid or spam, is it goes through several tests, based on the overall score, the verdict is issued.

The email can be blocked based on a number of things other than the email content, you can block all emails with images except coming from your whitelist for example, but this is not acceptable, especially if you have what I like to call the “Friends Spam”, employees using their work account as personal mailing account.

Your filter needs to include a special image filtering feature, that goes, even if not quite efficiently, through the image and detects text. I don’t think it understands the image itself, because we are still advancing in that arena.

What you can do, is add the sender’s address or domain to your blocked list.

On a lighter note, if there is a small little tiny chance that a spam message passes through, your main mail filter appliance and the end user’s email scanner, which employee’s inbox will it end up in ?????

Read More on Email Spam: Link

anti-spam

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Eye Sight Issues

Posted by Bloggylife in personal on May 5, 2009

For a couple of weeks now, I’ve been having eye sight problems, letters and images are a bit fuzzy and I’ve been having headaches. I tried going to the Dr. to have my eyes checked but didn’t find the time till today.

First of all, I have an idea, not because I’m an IT person, but to get an appointment for eye sight checkup, you’ll go through these steps.

  1. See the general Dr. She’ll give you a reference to the ophthalmologist – just Googled that term ;P -
  2. Take that piece of paper and only in mornings to set an appointment for your eyes check
  3. Go to the eye Dr. to get your sight checked out

Since I’m only looking for an appointment, why isn’t there an automated system to register my request??  See I didn’t say generate an appointment, just register my request. I can login a website and input my civil ID, name and contact number, they can store the information and the next day, after the person responsible sets an appropriate appointment, sends me a message and I can reply to confirm or call up. Wouldn’t that be more efficient! This is the lowest level of solution, or just have a person answer the phone and write down requests. Look at the bright side, more jobs will be created!

So I went to the “مستوصف” and as I was standing this lady goes ahead and cuts in line!!! I’m thinking coooooool down, many people do that, it’s NOT worth it, but this what comes out of my mouth:

لو سمحت هل في سبب انج عديتيني؟؟؟

wait … wait for the finaleeee ;P

من اللباقة انج توقفين بالدور

LOL, I don’t know where the hell I come up with stuff like that! Everyone was sweet and apologetic, maskeeenaaa  the woman who cut in line and the person behind the register counter ;P

Anyway I go into the Dr’s office and of course, sitting in the chair in front  of her, fighting the urge to push her aside and use the oracle forms she keeps exiting and opening! She ends up puffing her cheeks and writing on a piece of paper.

I hope I can get out of work tomorrow and set my eye appointment and then I reaaalllly hope I don’t have to wait that long to check my eyes out. Last time, I had eye sight issues, were in my graduate year, the Dr gave me some eye drops and advised me to blink!

I just need to rest for a while, it’s been hectic for some time now and I need a break … Don’t we all …

mba0762l

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