This blog was created to provide you with the latest spam news, techniques to minimize spam and information about the latest anti-spam software. Spam is a very serious threat, but sometimes you need to take a break and see the lighter side of things.

What if you’re the one doing the spamming?

Are you considering becoming a member of SA (Spammers Anonymous)? If think you may be suffering from a spam addiction, visit the spammers anonymous site and take their spammer test.

By answering 12 quick and easy questions, you’ll know once and for all if you need help to conquer your problem. If your score is low, good for you! You’re doing your part to reduce the amount of annoying spam generated worldwide.

On the other hand, if your score is high, just remember – admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery… (-;

March 2008 revealed a surprising increase in the volume of worldwide spam. An average of 81% of all the email traffic consisted of spam messages, with an astonishing peak of 88%. To give you a better idea of the increase, one of the leading security software providers, Symantec produced a report entitled the “State of Spam.”

The report revealed that only 65% of all email was unsolicited messages for the first half of 2007 which rose to 70% during the second half of the year. The company also confirmed that approximately 23% of spam messages are sent from the United States, followed by Russia with approximately 6%.

Apparently, the 2010 Soccer World Cup has already generated 419 scam email messages. Although spammers normally entice unsuspecting victims with unclaimed property, they have focused their attention on the 2010 South African World Cup as a new strategy.

April 2008 saw another new trend in the world of spam – capitalizing on the US tax year. Certain spammers are sending messages that claim to be sent by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) representatives. One of these messages advised taxpayers that they are entitled to a tax refund if they provide their payment details on a site that clearly does not belong to the IRS. Another group of spammers has utilized social engineering to dupe users into downloading malware on to their computers.

Symantec’s report includes the innovative use of TurboTax which is a popular American tax software program. Spammers send emails to users recommending they load updates to their software so they can comply with alleged new requirements established by the IRS.

If users view the details in the From field, they will notice a “cn” domain which should alert them that the message is not being sent from the IRS. The URL which is turbotax.com/update also does not come from the official TurboTax website; users are directed to an empty page with a popup requesting them to download a particular file.

Symantec advised all users to rely on common sense when they receive suspicious email messages. Another tip is to ensure their email security programs are completely up to date so they can protect your computer against new online threats that continue to emerge.