Spam Isn't so Bad in Canada
by Gerald Trites

Canadians being swept under a mountain of spam can take some comfort in a recent report by Sophos that shows Canada not even making their list of Spam problem countries. In fact Canada is mentioned in the report as having improved the situation during the past year. The US still takes first prize, with spam running at 19.8% of total email, exactly double the rate of its closest rival, China, which clocked in at 9.9%. While most countries, including the US, have taken steps to fight spam, it seems that spammers are getting more creative in their methods, making it difficult to keep up with them. Also, spammers are directing more of their energies to social network sites, like Facebook, which have shown a large increase in spam traffic. One would assume that this type of spam can be brought under control, so maybe there is some hope for the future. And while companies are gravitating towards social networking, they are tending to do it in proprietary or customized forms, rather than simply adopting open networks like Facebook. This will help them control the traffic much more closely. The Sophos report can be viewed at the Information Systems Security site.