The LA Times reported that because of a small server company in California (McColo) that has been shut off, the amount of spam worldwide has dropped two-thirds.
Yes, it’s incredible to think that around 66% of spam you most likely see in your inbox or Spam/Junk folder came from there.
Symantec stated however that spam will jump right back up to its previous level by around Christmas December 25; the relief is only temporary as spammers scurry to find new hosting companies to start the spam engine up again.
An interesting note about this is that spam was dealt a serious blow not by anti-spam software, lawsuits against spammers or the like, but rather by taking the approach going after larger U.S. companies (i.e. U.S. host providers) that "unknowingly" assist spammers. I put "unknowingly" in quotes, because let’s be real here.. it’s all about the cash. If a hosting company is thrown big bucks for serious hosting packages as long as they pay a blind eye to what’s going on, they’ll pocket it and not care.
This should serve as a huge wake-up call to the anti-spam industry that anti-spam software and lawsuits don’t work – but human involvement in going after spam-friendly hosting companies does.
[Source: LA Times]
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Empyrean
14. Nov, 2008
Explains why I haven’t received an ounce of spam. Good work for the guys who busted them, now if only they could find a reason to shut down Comcast
Drew
15. Nov, 2008
Pity I’m still getting between 10-20 per day in Hotmail
Early Christmas Present, Spam Drops Two-Thirds Worldwide | w3Knol Blog
26. Nov, 2008
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