untangling_the_web

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accounted for more than 40% of all spam messages generated in the fourth quarter
of 2006, compared with less than 5% in the first quarter of 2005.,,170
All it takes is a public willing to open spam email, especially in HTML format, or its
(seemingly innocuous) attachments, and there are millions of people still doing this.
Spam sent using bets is notoriously difficult to trace because it uses other people's
computers to traverse the Internet and, of course, always-on broadband connections
only facilitate the movement of bots and spam.
The year 2003 may be remembered in Internet history for reaching one very
unfortunate milestone: there were more spam emails than legitimate emails. "In
2003, Brightmail [an anti-spam company] saw spam surpass legitimate emailgrowing
to more than 56% of all Internet email, up from just 40% a year ago.,,171 The
problem continues to worsen. In 2004, statistics painted a different picture.
According to [e-mail security vendor FrontBridge's] figures, spam volume increased
two percent, to 87 percent of e-mail, and has continued its growth each month since
May of this year [2004]."172 December 2006 saw a new record: according to one
tracking system, spam accounted for 94 percent of all email that month. 173
Despite improvements in knowledge and education about computer security risks,
too many people still know little or nothing about the vulnerabilities in the tools they
use every day, and this ignorance truly is bliss to the bad people wishing to exploit
those weaknesses. Therefore, the first essential step in improving your Internet
security and privacy is to learn more about basic vulnerabilities, exploits, and ways
to protect yourself. Many of the recommendations in this book only need to be
implemented one time for the life of a computer. Some, such as keeping basic
software up to date, require more diligence. However, all are examples of "good
computer hygiene" that will-or should-become second nature over time.
There are new vulnerabilities disclosed literally every week, so this book cannot
provide a comprehensive list of problems, flaws, and potential attacks. It can do
three things:
../ Provide general guidance on improving your Internet privacy and security.
170 Paul McDougall, "Organized Malware Factories Threaten Internet Users, Study Says," Information
Week, 30 January 2007,
(31 January 2007).
171 "Brightmail Reports on Spam Trends of 2003," Networks Unlimited, 27 February 2004,
(link inactive as of November 2005).
172 Sean Michael Kerner, ''The Deadly Duo: Spam and Viruses." ClickZ Stats, 16 November 2004,
(14 November 2006).
173 Gregg Keizer, "Spam Sets Record, Accounts For 94% Of E-mail," InformationWeek, 10 January
2007 , 23 January 2007.
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