Barracuda Reveals Only 21 Percent of Twitter Users are Genuine
by Janet HarrisBarracuda Networks Inc., a leading provider of security, storage and networking solutions, today released its Barracuda Labs 2009 Annual Report, revealing data from three areas: Twitter trends and tracking, Web threats and trends, and email spam and viruses. The report is available at the company’s newly launched security research portal at http://barracudalabs.com. The report drills down into 2009’s fastest growing social networking application Twitter, and reviews growth drivers, usage ...
February 16, 2010
SpamTitan achieves record growth in ISP customer-base
by Janet HarrisVirtualized security software appliances are playing a vital role in helping Internet Service Providers (ISPs) combat ever increasing levels of spam according to SpamTitan Technologies, the makers of powerful yet easy-to-manage spam and web filtering software. SpamTitan’s sales for the financial year ended 31 December 2009 showed a clear trend among ISPs for Cloud-, VMware- and ISO image-based anti-spam appliances. Levels of spam account for 19 out of every ...
February 11, 2010
Why Hackers Love You on Valentines Day
by Janet HarrisValentine’s Day is coming up and hackers are preparing. They’re betting that consumers get weak in the knees with the mention of the ‘L’ word. A decade ago, the I LOVE YOU virus spread from one machine to another since few consumers used protection. A decade later, “iloveyou” is the fifth most common password, “lovely” is number 18 and “loveu” is #23 and “loveme” is #43. This year, hackers will ...
February 10, 2010
Network Box warns of Valentine’s Day security threats
by Janet HarrisBusinesses should prepare for an increase in the number of spam and cyber-attacks as Valentine’s Day approaches, according to managed security firm, Network Box. Valentine’s Day, which falls on a Sunday this year, is increasingly being exploited by cyber-criminals to steal data and infect computers and networks. Businesses need to be aware that there will be a spike in phishing attacks, malware and spam on and around Valentine’s Day. Christmas 2009 saw ...
January 28, 2010
Network Box says 55% of email viruses are Phishing attacks
by Janet HarrisMore than half (55.59 per cent) of all malware sent on email is an attempted phishing attack, according to analysis of malware in January 2010 by managed security firm, Network Box. Phishing attacks soared before Christmas (to 57 per cent of malware), as criminals attempted to exploit the number of people shopping online, but the numbers have stayed at a similar level through January. Brazil continues to dominate as the ...
January 26, 2010
Mimecast secures £13 million R&D funding
by Janet HarrisMimecast®, a holistic email management company offering SaaS-based email archiving, continuity, security and policy control, today announced that it has received £13 million (USD $21 million) in Series B financing from venture capital firms Index Ventures and Dawn Capital. Mimecast plans to use the funding to increase research and development initiatives and continue to build its market presence. Founded in the UK in 2003 by Peter Bauer (CEO) ...
January 11, 2010
Cloudmark brings messaging protection to 1 billion subscribers
by Janet HarrisCloudmark, Inc., the global leader in carrier-grade messaging security, today announced that it now protects more than one billion subscribers from messaging threats across email, mobile and social networks. Based on the rapid worldwide adoption of its solutions by leading Internet service providers, cable companies, social networks, hosting companies and mobile operators, Cloudmark now safeguards more subscribers from spam, viruses and phishing attacks than any other messaging security provider. The ...
SpamTitan offers highest spam catch rate
by Janet HarrisSpamTitan Technologies, the makers of powerful yet easy-to-manage spam and web filtering software, today announced that it has again outperformed the leading industry brands in the latest Virus Bulletin Spam awards. In comparative tests featuring 15 of its nearest rivals, SpamTitan combined the highest spam catch rate with a very low false positive ratio. This result earned SpamTitan the much coveted Virus Bulletin Award along with strong independent endorsement ...
January 6, 2010
Royal Albert Hall Hits Right Note with Mimecast Email Management
by Janet HarrisThe Royal Albert Hall (RAH) today announced that it has selected Mimecast, a holistic email management company offering SaaS-based email archiving, continuity and security to improve its email security and archiving. The RAH entertains over a million people each year and receives almost 4,000 emails every day from promoters representing world famous artists, customers with queries, families and students involved with their Learning and Participation programmes and even from ...
December 10, 2009
Hardware security appliances to be functionally redundant by 2011
by Janet HarrisSpamTitan Technologies, the makers of powerful yet easy-to-manage spam and web filtering software, today predicted that virtualised-driven, cloud computing offerings will render hardware security appliances all but functionally obsolete by the end of 2011. SpamTitan cited sales evidence to show that mounting pressure to cut hardware ownership costs and the ready availability of a growing number of easy-to-use and affordable virtual security appliances are rapidly changing buying habits in the ...
September 4, 2009
Sony sends in SPAM detectives
by Alan HartenThose who participate in online multiplayer games globally now have a new ally in their game play, a group of virtual detectives who aim to protect their interests while gaming. Although some individuals have initiated spam and viruses on PC users, a new spam attack in particular is targeting those who play the largest MMO videogames such as “World of Warcraft.” The way they work the system is by playing characters in ...
August 24, 2009
theinvestblog.com spam and aimtrust.com ponzi scheme fraud
by Brian TurnerA major piece of spam at work from theinvestblog.com - high volume blog spam and high volume referrer spam at the same time. The most insidious part of it is that theinvestblog.com appears to be solely built to promote the website aimtrust.com - which in itself appears to be a big ponzi scheme. Ponzi schemes are nothing new - aside from Bernard Madoff's high-profile scheme which fooled high-brow investors, the internet is ...
August 17, 2009
Yahoo spam free email, for a price
by Alan HartenFor those who are tired of fighting the war against spam, Yahoo has announced the creation of a new email service that requires payment in order to avoid spam messages. The new service is called CentMail and allows users to buy virtual stamps at the rate of a penny a stamp. All of the sales profits from the stamps will then be donated to a charity of the user’s choice. Yahoo ...
August 14, 2009
TwitBlock blocks (most) Twitter spammers
by David MastersA new website launched this week helps Twitter users identify and block spammers. "TwitBlock aims to raise awareness, and hopefully educate Twitter users about how to avoid falling foul of cons and phishing traps," founders of the service said. TwitBlock (whoever thought up that name was truly inspired) checks your followers' biography against spammy words, and also works out how other Twitter users treat your followers. The service then lists your followers in ...
July 29, 2009
Big fine for European Spammer
by Alan HartenSpammers beware, as the punishment for spamming online is starting to have financial repercussions. Dutch regulator OPTA recently fined Reinier Schenkhuizen €250,000 out of which €150,000 was punishment for sending out junk emails and €100,000 was because he did not provide a way for recipients to opt out of the messages. According to the OPTA, Schenkhuizen was able to send out 21 million spam messages using the mass mailing portal ADVERTERENisGRATIS that ...
July 22, 2009
US is world’s SPAM capital
by Alan HartenSophos, a security firm, announced that the United States produces the most spam on the internet, holding the country accountable for 15.6% of all the spam that was retrieved between April and June of 2009. Roughly this means that one out of every six spam emails originated in the United States. Following close behind the United States in the spam accountability study was Brazil with 11.1% of spam and then ...
June 15, 2009
KattyBlackyard IP: 89.28.14.35 in massive blog spam attack
by Brian TurnerA massive amount of web spam has been hitting the internet over the weekend, all sourced from a single user on an IP originating in Moldova. Using the name "KattyBlackyard" and posting through the IP 89.28.14.35, the blog spam attack is one of the most extensive we've ever seen, with most if not all of our huge range of honeypots hit by the same comment over the weekend. More than this, the ...
June 9, 2009
E-scams and phishing hit record levels
by David MastersA record number of internet users have been targeted by online scammers in the last 12 months. Over three quarters (77%) of Brits have been targeted by phishing emails, whilst seven in ten have received bogus pleas for money. Two thirds (67%) have been told they've won a competition only to discover that it was a scam designed to steal personal details. Fraudsters are becoming increasingly ingenious in their e-scams, with the most ...
February 16, 2009
92.241.160.25 on mass spam run
by Brian TurnerThe blog spam is really out in force at the moment, with a massive wave of blog and forum spam coming out of Russia and China at present. The IP address 92.241.160.25 is currently running wild on the blogp spam, with a comment that quotes the domain name, along with short inanae comment, followed by the word "ad" and a link to one of a large number of Russian websites. IP's from ...
December 9, 2008
‘Tis the season to be spammy
by David MastersThe internet security industry is bracing itself to tackle a deluge of spam in the run up to Christmas. Managed security firm, Network Box, reported sighting a number of 'test' spam emails over the weekend - usually the first step in a widespread spam campaign. Simon Heron, Internet Security Analyst at Network Box, said: “This is usually a sign that a spammer is testing the waters before a new, orchestrated spam campaign.” Christmas ...