Summary
In a study that surprised no one, Sophos announced that the US is the world's largest spam-producing nation, accounting for 42.1% of the spam sent out worldwide. Though the United States passed the CAN-SPAM act in order to stop the flow of unsolicited email messages, the large number of zombie programs that infect computers to send spam automatically is on the rise. This is especially true in South Korea, which came in a distant second place.
Original source:
http://www.techweb.com/wire/security/56200465
Details
The United States was the 800-pound spam-spewing gorilla throughout 2004, a spot it held from wire to wire throughout the year, an anti-virus firm announced Monday.
According to researchers at U.K.-headquartered Sophos, the U.S. accounted for 42.1 percent of the world's spam, more than three times the next-guiltiest nation, South Korea, which launched 13.4 percent of the globe's junk mail.
China, Canada, and Brazil rounded out the top five.
"When we first reported on the top spamming countries back in February 2004, the U.S. had the excuse that the CAN-SPAM Act had been in existence for a couple of months," said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a statement.
"Almost a year and millions of spam messages later, it's quite evident that that the CAN-SPAM legislation has made very little headway in damming the flood of spam."
Sophos, which used its global network of spam honeypots to attract messages to analyze, also noted that countries with high numbers of broadband Internet users are attractive targets to spammers, who often hijack vulnerable PCs, then turn them into spam "zombies" to disguise the real origin of the junk mail.
South Korea, which boasts the world's highest percentage of Internet users that connect via always-on, fast broadband links, is in second place on Sophos' list for that very reason.
"Spammers are motivated by one thing: fast and easy money," said Cluley.
"Many home users' computers are sending out spam because they have had their broadband internet connections exploited by remote hackers.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as martial arts, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, January 24, 2005
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