SPAM FREE DIET LATEST NEWS
OCTOBER 2007
16
A report issued by Commtouch has suggested that there hase been an increase in spam emails sent in the third quarter of 2007 and that as much as 95% of all emails sent are now classified as spam.
The biggest increase has been in sending attachment spam in the form of PDF and Excel files along with hyperlinks to malware sites. According to a report on the 901AM website:
"One technique which reached a new high during the quarter was innocent-appearing spam messages that contained hyperlinks to malware-sites. Several blended spam attacks of this type focused on leisure-time activities, such as sports and video games. Messages invited consumers to download “fun” software such as NFL game-tracking and video games from what appeared to be legitimate websites."
(read the rest of the 901AM article)
As ever, we suggest that you ensure that your anti-spam software is up to date and that you remain vigilent when receiving emails from unknown sources. Review our articles on steps to prevent spam email as well as recommended anti-spam software.
MAY 2007
01
According to an article on Wired, today marks the 29th anniversary of the first ever recorded piece of unsolicited email. It was sent to more than 400 people with an Arapnet address and was from a marketer by the name of Gary Thuerk.
A quick check on Google reveals that Mr Thuerk is widely referred to as The Father of Spam.
Today an estimated 62 billion spam emails are sent a day. Thanks, Gary.
JANUARY 2007
25
Two seperate articles on the BBC Technology site over the last few days have both highlighted the growing use of the internet by cyber criminals.
The first article talks about the very real threat that criminals may overwhelm the web due to their increased use of spam e-mails via botnets.
"Of the 600 million computers currently on the internet, between 100 and 150 million were already part of these botnets....Botnets are made up of large numbers of computers that malicious hackers have brought under their control after infecting them with so-called Trojan virus programs.
While most owners are oblivious to the infection, the networks of tens of thousands of computers are used to launch spam e-mail campaigns, denial-of-service attacks or online fraud schemes."
(read the rest of the BBC article)
The second article discusses the problem of malicious software being installed onto users computers without their knowledge.
"The number of websites being infected with malware - malicious software - is on the rise with Sophos uncovering an average of 5,000 new URLs hosting malicious code each day."
(read the rest of the BBC article)
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, make sure that your anti-virus software is up to date and that you regularly check your computer for spyware or malware. The Computer Associates Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware half price offer is still valid at the time of writing so if you don't already have a solution installed on your machine, now is a good time to buy.
21
We came across an interesting article over the weekend which confirmed something which a lot of people will already have suspected. Spam emails are on the increase again and they're getting more sophisticated than ever.
The article on The Red Tape Chronicles goes into some detail about how spammers are now using bandwidth busting image spam in a bid to defeat anti-spam software. Not only is this style of spam annoying to the recipient but it's also blocking up a number of companies mail servers.
It goes on to say that a large percentage of the 62 billion spam emails sent every day are distributed by computers infected by a Trojan horse virus called "Spam Thru" which turns home computers into spam bots without the owner knowing anything about it.
Our advice is to ensure that your anti-virus software is up to date and is running the latest version, install some anti-spam software (you can read our reviews of anti-spam software products here) and read through our tips on how to avoid being a victim of spam.
DECEMBER 2006
06
A new report out suggests that 89.73% of all emails sent are spam.
According to the report, spam containing pictures increased dramatically in 2006 and is becoming more sophisticated to confuse anti-spam software.
It goes on to say that 60% of all spam is sent from Europe. This has been highlighted in previous reports suggesting that the spammers are using hosting companies in Eastern Europe.
The article can be read on the Web User News site.
01
Computer Associates, the company behind our top rated anti-spam product, have announced a special offer for the Christmas holiday season. They are offering their top rated CA Anti-Virus 2007 + CA Anti-Spyware 2007 products as a special bundle at half the normal price.
For more information about this 50% saving which is valid for a limited time only, please visit the Computer Associates site
NOVEMBER 2006
27
According to a report on CNN, 9 out of 10 emails are spam. The report suggests that the number of spam emails has tripled since June of this year.
The report also highlights the 5 most common headlines in spam emails.
1) Please finalize.
2) Thank you for request.
3) Christmas Special!
4) Dating, 15 new messages for you, Olga.
5) News.
The full report can be read here - 9 out of 10 emails now spam