Flow of spam subsiding

[MrLinus]

Ok. Who are these people and why am I not part of them!??!?!

Source: The Toronto Star

Flow of spam subsiding

CURTIS RUSH
STAFF REPORTER THESTAR.COM

New data shows that the tide is turning in the war against spam.

A survey released today by Ipsos-Reid found that for the first time in four years, the amount of spam emails has declined in Canada.

And that, said Ipsos-Reid vice-president Steve Mossop, will be hailed by all those people who get bogged down at work by unsolicited emails.

"It's a hot topic," Mossop said, adding that the drop in spam makes email clutter more manageable. "It affects everybody. The numbers are staggering."

In 2004, online Canadians received an average of 177 emails per week, 87 of which — or 49 per cent — were spam.

That's a dramatic improvement over 2003 when 134, or 68 per cent, of the weekly average of 197 emails were spam.

Prior to this, spam volumes had been doubling every year, the survey results showed.

People were getting an average of 30 spam messages per week in 2001, and 64 in 2002.

Mossop attributed the decline this year to the fact that consumers, businesses and Internet Service Providers are becoming more successful at implementing filters that weed out spam before it arrives in your inbox.

"The spam filters are getting much better," Mossop said. "Still, there's a bit of a ways go."

[XTC46]

lol I think I get maybe 3 pieces of spam per day.... unless of course I count in all the garbage..err I mean "work related" emails about who is sick, whats broken, and where everyone is, then im up in the HUNDREDS per day.

[Und3ertak3r]

There a lies, dambed lies, and there are statistics..

Mossop attributed the decline this year to the fact that consumers, businesses and Internet Service Providers are becoming more successful at implementing filters that weed out spam before it arrives in your inbox.

It dosent mean there is less spam.. just the filtering process is starting to have a slight effect.... and when the craftsmen behind the spam find a better way of fooling the filters.. the ratio will change.. bit like the war against insects...

there is an almost as annoying internet Pest to SPAM.. it is CHAIN eMails.. (those freaking send this to 20 of your friends as soon as possable) as bad as viruses..

[phishphreek]

Spam? I haven't seen spam in ages! Thanks barracuda networks!
http://www.barracudanetworks.com/

[Tiger Shark]

Undies has pretty much nailed it.... The survey seems to have been on users rather than admins.

I can say without a doubt that the things I have implemented in the last 6 months to a year to fight spam has had a considerable effect on both the amount of spam that reaches my spam filter and the amount of spam that reaches my users.

I have also noticed, as Undies alludes to, that spam getting to users, including myself, comes in "waves". As the spammers find a new tactic then the spam reaching users increases. The updates to the spam filter or other tactics I employ counter that and the volume that reaches the user becomes reduced. I don't even have to actively monitor it... I can tell something changed when users start telling me "I have begun to get this rubbish in my inbox".... I tell them we are working on it.... In a few days the update or a new tactic/filter we employ when we see a pattern cuts it right back down again.

In short, the volume as a term of pecentage of total doesn't seem to have changed much - on my domains it would still be in the 60-65%+ region.... It's the filters we apply that leave the users with only 10-15% of that spam reaching them.... and they still complain....