• On MovieTome: See the villain of IRON MAN 2!
October 6, 2008 12:46 PM PDT

Spam volume down in September

by Robert Vamosi

Spam decreased 8 percent during September, according to a report (PDF) released Monday by MessageLabs.

Among other reasons behind the decrease, the security company cited the apparent demise of California-based Intercage, an Internet service provider alleged to have possibly been used to host command and control servers for various botnets. Intercage's upstream provider, Pacific Internet Exchange, terminated service on September 20; a second upstream provider, UnitedLayer, then terminated service on September 25. During this period, MessageLabs reported a marked decrease in spam traffic.

The impact of the Intercage ISP disconnection on botnet spam relays can be seen in this graph.

(Credit: MessageLabs)

Looking deeper into the spam traffic itself, MessageLabs found that 85 percent of sexually explicit e-mail spam is sent during the workday. A healthy 28 percent of that is sent during the lunch hours, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time. Almost all of this is blocked by corporate filters.

As CNET's resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security. Listen to his podcast at securitybites.cnet.com or e-mail Robert with your questions and comments.
advertisement
Click here!
Recent posts from Security
Symantec's Ramzan on solving the antivirus puzzle
Apple fixing iPhone SMS security hole
Waledac worm targeting July 4 spam offensive
ATM vendor gets security talk pulled from conferences
Postini: Google's take on e-mail security
Botnets lead the way for spam
Stallman warns of Mono 'risk'
China delays rule for Net-screening software
Add a Comment (Log in or register)
by surfdude1976 October 7, 2008 7:39 AM PDT
Can't say I have noticed any bit of a decrease. Seems like it went way, way up for me according to my stats on my spam filter SpamBully
Reply to this comment
by doconn7 October 7, 2008 2:10 PM PDT
If you can track it, you can eliminate it. So what's the hold up?
Just stop the spam and while your at it stop the incessant storing of information.
Reply to this comment
advertisement

Making sense of Windows 7 upgrades

faq The basics and the fine print on Microsoft's options for those eyeing the next operating system from Redmond.
• Full Windows 7 coverage

Road Trip 2009: Big Sky Country

CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman takes his car full of gadgets to the Rockies and the Great Plains in search of tech, science, nature, and more.
• America's Fortress: Cheyenne Mountain

About Security

Online security is threatened by more than hacking and phishing attempts. Check here for the latest updates on software vulnerabilities, data leaks, and rapidly spreading viruses--and learn how to protect your systems.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Security topics

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right