Help understanding spam source code?

[JM]

Hello,

I'm an HTML noob, so I cannot begin to explain what's going on here. This
is the source info from an email spam message I received today. I sincerely
apologize if including this code is poor etiquette. As you will see if you
view the code in a browser, the source bears no resemblance to what the
browser displays - at least to a someone like me.
I would apprciate ANY insight provided. I would love to know what's going
on.

Thank you,

jm




<FONT color=#ffffff size=1>The second book begins , "Bienseance de la it
was assumed that Washington himself ,Mr. Conway found in the </FONT>
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106"
name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>

<TABLE style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-FAMILY:
Arial"
width=500 bgColor=black>
<TBODY>
<TR bgColor=#3333ff>
<TH
style="FONT-SIZE: 15px; COLOR:
white">Welcom<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">gave food for his
vivid imagination. </SPAN>e to
the Pharmac<SPAN style="DISPLAY:none">the
world over. </SPAN>yMail</TH></TR>
<TR bgColor=#cccccc>
<TD>Hello,&nbsp;<B><A
style="TEXT-DECORATION:underline"href="http://nlmvkdznyx.icybite.info/?58931444Ff1ceZe87c817a97efd6eW1e">PHA<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">child in his eighth
year," </SPAN>RMA-S<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">Washington's life that
</SPAN>HOP</A></B> Wel<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">a Christmas poem,
</SPAN>comes you!
<BR><BR><B>Vl<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">trained in that
subject. </SPAN>AGRA</B> as<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">Washington was fitted
</SPAN> low as <B
style="COLOR: #ef0303">$ 10<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">"True
Happiness,"</SPAN>9.99</B> (3<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">consideration for
others, his respect for </SPAN>0
piI<SPAN style="DISPLAY: none">presentation.
</SPAN>ls),
<BR><B>ClA<SPAN style="DISPLAY: none">and he
copied them.</SPAN>LlS</B> as low a<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">the late Moncure D
Conway, was born in </SPAN>s <B style="COLOR: #ef0303">$
32<SPAN style="DISPLAY: none">"True
Happiness,"</SPAN>4.00</B> (9<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">all were early
inculcated in him by precepts </SPAN>0 p<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">Company </SPAN>iIls),
<BR><B>VALl<SPAN style="DISPLAY:
none">comprehension of the fineness of Washington's .</SPAN>UM</B> as low
<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">The one devoted
to</SPAN>as <B
style="COLOR: #ef0303">$ 3<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">A French edition
</SPAN>41.00</B> (9<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">comparison of
Washington's Rules </SPAN>0 piI<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">to a treatise entitled
</SPAN>ls),
<BR><B>XAN<SPAN style="DISPLAY:
none">biographers have regarded them as formative </SPAN>AX</B> as low <SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">child in his eighth
year," </SPAN>as <B
style="COLOR: #ef0303">$ 1<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">completed his
comparisons </SPAN>30.00</B> (3<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">appeared at Paris at
least </SPAN>0 piI<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">Conversation entre les
Hommes," </SPAN>ls), <BR><B>L<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">Few graduates of
colleges </SPAN>EVlTRA</B> as<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">and deference to those
deserving such treatment, </SPAN> low as <B
style="COLOR: #ef0303">$ 49<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">of Congress,
..</SPAN>9.99</B> (9<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">love poems attributed
</SPAN>0 pi<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">and even his reverence
for his Maker, </SPAN>Ils)
and many<SPAN style="DISPLAY: none">trained
in that subject. </SPAN> other <BR><BR>Just try us and
you will not be disap<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">edition appeared at
Pont-a-Mousson in 1617, </SPAN>pointed!
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<FONT color=#ffffff size=1>Just as he had , exercises of George Washington,
to their brothers at Pont-a-Mousson.,and of the epoch-making </FONT>

<BR>

<P><FONT SIZE=2>--<BR>
No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.<BR>
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/115 - Release Date:
9/29/2005<BR>
</FONT> </P>

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Hello,

I'm an HTML noob, so I cannot begin to explain what's going on here.

<FONT color=#ffffff size=1>The second book begins ,

Color is white, probably same as your background, and a very small size,
if your background was something other than white. Can you see white on
white?

<SPAN style="DISPLAY: none">gave food for his
vivid imagination. </SPAN>

Heh. display: none. Your client won't show it.

style="DISPLAY: none">trained in that
subject. </SPAN>AGRA</B> as<SPAN
style="DISPLAY: none">Washington was fitted
</SPAN> low as <B

Viagra, eh?

Is this enough info for you to pick out the why?

No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.<BR>
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/115 - Release Date:
9/29/2005<BR>
</FONT> </P>

Spammer even includes an AVG advertisement.

So by now, you have decided to turn off all rendering of email in HTML,
correct? Switched it to Plain Text only? Many people just bin HTML
mail upon receipt, including me.

 

[Jafar As-Sadiq Calley]

<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106"

Yuck, no wonder it's a mess.

I wouldn't worry. It just looks like the kind of nonsense spammers send
out to poison bayesian spam filters.

 

[Andy Dingley]

I wouldn't worry. It just looks like the kind of nonsense spammers send
out to poison bayesian spam filters.

Actually a good (i.e. looks at the source, not the result) Bayesian spam
filter is quite strong against this camouflaged spam - better than a
simple keyword spotter. The best performance comes from a filter that's
HTML/CSS aware and knows how to process display:none; but obviously
that's time-consuming to filter.

Binning all HTML email on sight is even better, of course.