Spam volumes reach all-time high, Tracelabs says
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Spam volumes have reached a new all-time high, surpassing the previous record spam level from July 2008, according to Tracelabs, the research division of web security company Marshal8e6.
The spam researchers said spam volume, which nosedived in November 2008 after the shutdown of the spam-hosting ISP McColo, have finally pushed past the previous high-water mark.
Lead security researcher Phil Hay said spam volumes matched the previous high from last year in June, "and now in July 2009 the spammers have punched through with a wave of spam to set a new record."
The Rustock and Pushdo botnets continue to send out the most spam and second-tier botnets like Grum have increased their output, Tracelabs reported.
Brazil led the Tracelabs spam statistics, sending out 15 percent of all spam, followed by the U.S. with 10 percent.
Not all spam research is consistent. Other recent research suggests that spam-sending botnets have a higher presence in the U.S. than anywhere else. Terry Zink, a researcher for Microsoft, said on his blog that the U.S. sends out 31 percent of all spam.
Related News:
Email filtering still top priority - 3.18.2010
Despite the recent success authorities have enjoyed in shutting down certain major botnets such as Waledac and Mariposa, the BBC recently reported that spam levels have not faltered greatly and the threat of infection from the tainted messages is still very real.
Social networking games profting from malware, moving to iPhone - 3.15.2010
Games like Farmville and Mafia Wars have become increasingly popular on popular social networking sites like Facebook. For users who pay for the service, the threat of malware and spam is minimal. However, those who provide contact information and fill out surveys in exchange for points in the games open themselves up to scareware, spam and other problems.
Web security breaches rock Hotmail - 3.12.2010
Users of Microsoft's free email service are advised by the Redmond, Washington-based software giant to change their passwords and be vigilant as an increase in spam activity on the site has led to web security breaches.
Spam won't go away, but it can be avoided - 3.10.2010
Email filtering works to an extent in ridding computers of spam, but those pesky emails offering millions of dollars for nothing and inexpensive prescription drugs always seem to find a way through even the most stringent filters.
Spammer arrested on extortion charges - 3.9.2010
A California man was arrested and charged with extortion following a threat he made to insurance company New York Life to send spam emails aimed at hurting the company's reputation. Anthony Digati of Chino, California also planned to send spam to the company in hopes of receiving $200,000.
|
