We found a bit of good news for Computer Network Support in Boston providers. According to an article in Network World, global spam fell to the lowest level in three years. This may be a sign that spammers could be getting a better rate of return by hitting social-media websites instead, according to the latest figures provided by Symantec.
About 70.5 percent of all email was spam, a still-high figure but one that is much lower than a few years ago, when it was well over 90 percent. Symantec calculated the percentage by analyzing some 8 billion messages it processed a day last month, according to the company’s latest MessageLabs Intelligence Report.
Back in March Microsoft, law enforcement and other companies joined forces to take down Rustock, a large botnet responsible for sending up to 30 billion spam messages per day, resulting in a big drop in spam volumes.
“Ever since then, nothing really filled the void,” said Andy Watson, a senior software engineer at Symantec.
Spammers may be putting their efforts into social media sites because there is a better return. Spam links on services such as Twitter and Facebook can spread through users clicking on the links. This is where many viruses also begin. That’s something Tech Support Boston Area providers would be happy to see go away too.
Social-media spammers are continuing to set up their own URL shortening services, often with open-source software. By using a URL shortener, a user is less likely to see that the link may lead to a questionable website.
Also reported by Symantec is that the U.S. is the biggest source of spam, sending 28 percent of the total number of messages, followed by India at 9 percent; Russia, 5.7 percent; Brazil, 4.3 percent and China at 4 percent. The most popular topics for spam messages are unsolicited sales pitches for pharmaceuticals, watches , jewelry, newsletters and the dreaded adult-related content as well.
If you would like to read the entire NetworkWorld article just click here.
