Apple's Ping Overrun with Spam

[Nomad_]

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apples_ping_overrun_with_spam.php

Only 24 hours after the launch of Apple's new social network, Ping, the service has been overrun by spammers. The fraudsters have created iTunes profiles and are posting links to a number of online scams, including ones that promises "free iPhones" or "free iPads" in exchange for filling out online surveys. For the most part, these suspicious links are being posted in the comments sections of the most popular artists on Ping, like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, U2 and others, all of whom are among the recommended accounts linked to from the Ping homepage.

As security expert Chester Wisniewski points out, Apple doesn't require a credit card or any other positive identification in order to establish an account on Ping, which itself is a part of newly launched iTunes 10. Doing so wouldn't be advisable, either, as it would lock out a lot of "credit card-less" kids, teens and young adults from using iTunes. There's actually quite a bit of free content available from the iTunes Store, from apps to music to video, allowing parents to feel comfortable in letting their children manage their own iTunes accounts without close supervision.

Given those lax sign-up requirements, however, it's somewhat surprising that Apple didn't build in a good spam filtration system into its social network, too. The types of links being posted now are what any halfway decent blog commenting system like Disqus or Echo would pick up automatically, or at least flag for review, especially since the posts contain links.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/apple-launches-itunes-ping-forgets-the-spam-filters/38841

Apple?s much bally-hooed iTunes social network is becoming overrun by spam.

Comment spam is an increasing nuisance, but security firm Sophos notes that Apple didn?t consider the problems when it launched Ping. Simply put, Ping lacks spam and URL filtering.

[djnv2010]

i have to check again, but i hope i can opt out of PING, i guess i'll have to see if i can or just uninstall Itunes 10 and reinstaall without PING, sounded good at the time, but now, i regret it.

[LiquidSolstice]

Figures, they take three years to copy Zune Social and they can't even nail the spam problem right.

However, the whole "free item" thing isn't really exclusive to this, there's millions of Apple users, from a spammers point of view, this is the perfect time to get maximum exposure.

[bjoswald]

I guess Jobs realized how important social networking is and had to jump on the bandwagon at the last minute.

Seems like another silly, unnecessary service though.

[Aergan]

Guess they forgot to buy an Anti-spam company pre-launch?

[hotdog666al]

i have to check again, but i hope i can opt out of PING, i guess i'll have to see if i can or just uninstall Itunes 10 and reinstaall without PING, sounded good at the time, but now, i regret it.

Why opt-out? Just don't use it... :huh:

[abecedarian paradoxious]

Don't need a CC to use Zune, and I never get spammed there. Oh well.

[Matthew S.]

^ Really how popular is zune outside of the US?

Thought so.

Why opt-out? Just don't use it... :huh:

Exactly.

[Ryoken]

I noticed the spam as soon as I activated my account ( btw Ping is Opt In, not Opt Out.. for people who are anal about that sort of stuff )..

It's got it's growing pains, but then again all of these services have spam problems, Give apple a month or two to work out the bugs.. None of these sites launched without problems..

[Argi]

Ping itself is just a dumb idea. Wish they would spend less time adding pointless features and trashing the UI and more time improving the code so it's leaner and faster, and while they're at it, make it less painful to move and sync libraries between computers. So many useful features they could be making. :crazy: Honestly, iTunes is the biggest complaint with my iPhone.

^ Really how popular is zune outside of the US?

It isn't available outside the US but at the time I would've loved one!

[Matthew S.]

It isn't available outside the US but at the time I would've loved one!

You realize that's the point I was trying to convey right?

[FloatingFatMan]

Overrun with spam already huh?

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people. :p

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I signed up for ping yesterday. 2 minutes later I stopped using it, I have no use for it.

[guru]

Overrun with spam already huh?

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people. :p

:laugh:

[fix-this!]

Overrun with spam already huh?

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people. :p

agreed! :laugh:

i uninstalled itunes, never used it anyways.

[Eric Veteran]

^ Really how popular is zune outside of the US?

Thought so.

Exactly.

I'm not sure that matters. The Zune software is like iTunes - you don't need the media player to use it. AFAIK you can still use it to get/play music in most locales.

[Growled Member]

Not everyone can run a successful social network properly. Apparently Apple is one of those.

[Elliott]

Not everyone can run a successful social network properly. Apparently Apple is one of those.

I just did a cursory check in Ping: no spam anymore (and that's counting the popular artists like Lady Gaga). Seems like Apple enacted some anti-spam measures (and without the need for a report link on each comment).

For a brand new social network, that's pretty impressive turnaround.

[Digitalx]

glad i never bothered.

[Growled Member]

I just did a cursory check in Ping: no spam anymore (and that's counting the popular artists like Lady Gaga). Seems like Apple enacted some anti-spam measures (and without the need for a report link on each comment).

For a brand new social network, that's pretty impressive turnaround.

Yes, if they managed to do that even I will admit that is impressive.

[bjoswald]

I can't even remember the last time I got excited about an iTunes release. I don't even want that crap anywhere near my system anymore. I do have an iPod, but Amazon MP3 works just fine, doesn't treat me like a criminal with DRM, and I can copy/play whenever I want, wherever I want. Thanks anyway, Apple. Oh, and Ping is probably the worst name you could've chosen for your social music service.

[switch6]

Zune's social features are very refined now-a-days. Ping has a lot of catching up to do. If Apple wants to venture into getting more marketshare, they should really consider a music subscription service. This is where the Zune excels at easily.

[perochan]

all i use for iTunes is for listening to music and iPhone. so Ping or other new features dont matter to me.

[Elliott]

I can't even remember the last time I got excited about an iTunes release. I don't even want that crap anywhere near my system anymore. I do have an iPod, but Amazon MP3 works just fine, doesn't treat me like a criminal with DRM, and I can copy/play whenever I want, wherever I want. Thanks anyway, Apple. Oh, and Ping is probably the worst name you could've chosen for your social music service.

:huh: iTunes music hasn't had DRM for a pretty long time.