Security firm warns of spam that spies

Some email is 'bugged' to alert senders when messages are opened, researchers say. Hidden code in email messages is increasingly being used to track the success of spam campaigns, according to a warning by an antispam technology company. Hidden code in email messages is increasingly being used to track the success of spam campaigns, according to a warning by an antispam technology company. Such tracking helps spammers refine their distribution lists and weed out bad email addresses from good ones.

The beacons, also known as web bugs, are created with HTML code embedded in the email.

For example, the beacon may be a URL for an image file that is stored on a server controlled by the spammer.

When the email message is opened, the email application requests the image and sends along an encoded email address of the recipient.

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