Spam: Large-Number Domains

Lately, I've been getting a lot of spam touting web sites in which the domain is just a big number. For instance:

Announcing FREE CATALOGS! A FREE Service dedicated to bringing you
the
World's BEST CATALOGS!

Absolutely FREE.. No Strings Attached!

We only only send the catalogs you request.

Sign on today to be eligible for our FREE MONTHLY CASH GIVE-A-WAY!

http://{number removed so as not to give them any business}
Click Here

(Note: I have deactivated the "click here" link.)

What you may not realize is that the big number is the decimal equivalent of the IP address -- each byte of the big (32 bit) number corresponds to one of the pieces of a "dotted quad". Now, it is possible to translate by trying to ping or traceroute the domain... but not everybody has those tools at their disposal. So, to make tracing them easier, I wrote a neat little program to translate them.

If you don't know how to compile this, but do somehow have access to a calculator or program that can translate between decimal and "hex", here's how to do it.

1. Translate the big number from decimal to hex. For instance, let's say the big number is 1234567890. In hex, this would be 499602d2.

2. Divide the digits into pairs. (If there are an odd number of digits, let the first one stand alone.) For example, the above would be 49, 96, 02, d2.

3. Translate each pair of digits back into decimal. For example, the above would be 73, 150, 2, 210.

4. Separate with dots, and you have the corresponding IP address. For example, the above would be 73.150.2.210.

So what do you do with this "dotted quad" thingamajig? You can use it with host, traceroute, whois, nslookup, or assorted other programs to find out what it is, and where to complain. Those are, however, "beyond the scope of this document".