# Why "Live Streaming" spam? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 23, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912 "2016-04-23T16:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/1 "2016-04-23T16:25:02Z")
This board is constantly being spammed with “watch these sporting events on live streaming.” Why this, and not, say V1agra? I don’t think I’ve ever received and email spam for live streaming, so why here? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/2 "2016-04-23T16:27:09Z")
It makes no sense. I can’t imagine anyone has ever clicked on their links. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/3 "2016-04-23T16:27:58Z")
No keyword filtering? The mods have mentioned they have some kind of anti-spam working but no details. I’ve also noticed there’s no SEO type spam anymore. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/4 "2016-04-23T16:29:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It makes no sense. I can’t imagine anyone has ever clicked on their links. Not every message board is as fast as we are at catching and eliminating spam. Some forums are pretty much swamped with spam. There’s also comment sections at blogs, Youtube, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/5 "2016-04-23T16:41:01Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Not every message board is as fast as we are at catching and eliminating spam. Some forums are pretty much swamped with spam. > > There’s also comment sections at blogs, Youtube, etc. Sure, but what they’re selling, I can’t imagine anyone buying ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/6 "2016-04-23T16:47:24Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > This board is constantly being spammed with “watch these sporting events on live streaming.” Why this, and not, say V1agra? Because whoever is doing it (and it may be only one person) has the spam account for sporting events and not V1agra. We’re not being singled out. We are just caught up in the rush. The spammer is hitting everyone in sight, multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/7 "2016-04-23T16:49:52Z")
The live streaming sites probably have advertisers, so the spammer wants to drive traffic to them to increase views of the advertising. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/8 "2016-04-23T17:32:13Z")
I’ve clicked on them. They usually take you to a reddit post with a link to the streaming site, _which you have to pay to watch._ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/9 "2016-04-23T17:39:33Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’ve clicked on them. They usually take you to a reddit post with a link to the streaming site, _which you have to pay to watch._ So “live streaming” doesn’t mean “free streaming.” Amazing! And the links are just ads, not unlike the ads this board decided to serve up recently. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/10 "2016-04-23T18:25:19Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from General Questions to About This Message Board. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/11 "2016-04-23T18:31:15Z")
The live streaming spam comes from either one person or a very small group located in Bangladesh. They are particularly adept at avoiding our spam filters. They use every trick in the book, like posting through hosting services and using other tricks to hide where their IP is actually coming from, and creating posts without the links in them to bypass the spam filters and then editing the post to insert the links afterwards. This requires a lot of manual effort on their part. I don’t know why this particular spammer only spams live stream, but it’s definitely their topic of choice. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/12 "2016-04-23T18:39:01Z")
I posted a GQ thread a couple weeks ago (which I can’t currently search for) about spam on Facebook with supposed links to first run movies. Are these two types of spam the same? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/13 "2016-04-23T18:58:18Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’ve clicked on them. They usually take you to a reddit post with a link to the streaming site, _which you have to pay to watch._ The very latest (just a minute ago), went to Youtube. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/14 "2016-04-23T22:08:23Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’ve clicked on them. They usually take you to a reddit post with a link to the streaming site, _which you have to pay to watch._ But does _anyone_, anywhere, pay for their “service?” I am doubtful. Seems like a very strange business model. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/15 "2016-04-23T22:12:25Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > But does _anyone_, anywhere, pay for their “service?” I am doubtful. Seems like a very strange business model. The most recent spam is for UFC 197 which is a pay per view event. 49.99 SD/59.99 HD. I’ll bet the streaming sites charge a lot less. Or they steal your CC number. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/16 "2016-04-23T22:23:55Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The most recent spam is for UFC 197 which is a pay per view event. 49.99 SD/59.99 HD. > I’ll bet the streaming sites charge a lot less. Or they steal your CC number. That’s the point, isn’t it? I would never trust my credit card to a company that spams a message board to get my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/17 "2016-04-23T22:43:55Z")
I know someone who, around a decade ago, tried to watch a live streaming sports event from some unofficial online source (not a link from this site). While the matched was streamed, every minute or so his internet security program would show a pop-up saying, something like, that an intrusion had been blocked. He stopped watching the game after a few minutes (and hasn’t tried streaming from such a source since). From the [internet](http://www.it.northwestern.edu/getcontrol/stepfour.html): > [@](#): > > Streaming media Web sites might be fun and free, but they can pose a big threat to your computer security, even if you never download a movie or video. Streaming files can hide viruses, spyware, and other malware on your computer without your knowledge. Use your browser security features and tools like Web of Trust to avoid these dangerous sites. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/18 "2016-04-23T22:59:13Z")
Most spam links(at least IMHO) are the result of a “legitimate” company who says “we can raise your Google ranking.” Give us money. So, the money goes to a person in Bangledesh(or India, or wherever) who makes $1/day. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/19 "2016-04-24T00:49:27Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Most spam links(at least IMHO) are the result of a “legitimate” company who says “we can raise your Google ranking.” Give us money. So, the money goes to a person in Bangledesh(or India, or wherever) who makes $1/day. I got a cold call from an unknown solicitor who said he could guarantee that my site would be at the top of any Google search for a particular area and product. He wanted $200 per month, payable for a year in advance. When I asked if I could have his guarantee in writing and my money back if it didn’t work as advertised, he said “We put nothing in writing. You just have to trust us.” Legitimate, my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-live-streaming-spam/752912/20 "2016-04-24T12:27:55Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > The live streaming spam comes from either one person or a very small group located in Bangladesh. They are particularly adept at avoiding our spam filters. They use every trick in the book, like posting through hosting services and using other tricks to hide where their IP is actually coming from, and creating posts without the links in them to bypass the spam filters and then editing the post to insert the links afterwards. This requires a lot of manual effort on their part. > > I don’t know why this particular spammer only spams live stream, but it’s definitely their topic of choice. I’ll reinforce this and add that the very best line of defense we have against this is you fine people clicking the ‘report’ button. I’ve gotten so adept at it that I’ve been able to deal with a spam thread in 30 second on my phone while walking down my office hallway. But it has to be reported for me to see it in that circumstance.