Friday, September 01, 2006

The Spam Also Rises

The cliché needs to be updated for the 21st century -- the only things that are certain are death, taxes, and lots of spam in your inbox. Network software company Ipswitch says 70 percent of all email traffic is spam, up from 62 percent the previous quarter.

SoftScan says that more than 87 % of email is spam, and nearly 90 percent of that are phishing viruses.

Besides being an irritant to everyone, it also means that a greater percentage of legitimate email marketing gets lost in the spam snowball. Since, like raccoons, spam seems to come out in force at night, I've accidentally deleted several legit emails that came in the middle of the dozens of spams I awake to each day.

Email marketers should join with ISPs and network hardware vendors to find technological solutions to limit spam. Why can't they track the bursts of email that come from a single IP address? If networking vendors can throw up a wall in their routers when an attack starts, why can't the same be done on outbound mail? Or why can't ISPs charge companies based on their emails going out instead of bandwidth?

If we got rid of 80 percent of the spam befouling the Internet, there wouldn't be a "net neutrality" discussion -- there would be ample fast access for all.

Until this issue is addressed, email marketers will continue like Sisyphus trying to push their message up a steep hill.

Posted By John Gartner at 01:28 PM
Permanent Link: The Spam Also Rises | Comments (2)

(2) Comments on The Spam Also Rises

Jut think about that number and then your own mailbox. RSS related services will soon help eradicate the scourge of spam particularly for users. It's about the pull rather than push.

Comments by ron pruett : Monday, September 04, 2006 at 06:25 PM

You make a great case for spam, and it seems to me that if a system could be derived where every spam sent directed its link back to the person who sent it, that it would stop mighty quick. I too have deleted legit mail in error as I am trying to delete spam daily. You speak for all of us -- thanks! Think of the money that could be made if somebody devised a system where we could ALWAYS see who emails us by the link in their post! Thanks for raising this one to remind us we're not alone.

Comments by Ellen Weber : Monday, September 04, 2006 at 10:33 PM

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