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Are Spammers Giving Up?

sfjoe writes "Are spammers giving up the game? Google seems to think so. In an article at Wired, Google, '... says that spam attempts, as a percentage of e-mail that's transmitted through its Gmail system, have waned over the last year'. They think their own filters are so good that spammers aren't even trying anymore. 'Other experts disagree with Google, pointing out that overall spam attempts continue to rise. By most estimates, tens of billions of spam messages are sent daily. Yet for most users, the amount of spam arriving in their inboxes has remained relatively flat, thanks to improved filtering.'"

17 of 327 comments (clear)

  1. Hopefully they're finally getting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...all that cancer I've wished upon them.

  2. Re:For Serious? by explosivejared · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wouldn't be so sure. I did feel the ground get a bit cooler. As if something just froze over. However, it could just be my imagination. ... Oh yeah, It's just my imagination!

    --
    I got a catholic block.
  3. If they give up by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    will she still love you more than any other guy? Or will your short and flaccid member be the shame you bear?

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
    1. Re:If they give up by Dishevel · · Score: 4, Funny

      So...You Read the spam you get?

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
  4. Re:For Serious? by coldmist · · Score: 3, Funny

    Like anyone on Slashdot reads tfa... ;)

    --
    Don't steal. The government hates competition.
  5. Re:My Experience by edwardpickman · · Score: 2, Funny
    Spam detection has got to be something like 99.999% accurate

    So given the volume of spam what do you get, 200 or 300 a day?

  6. Of course they've given up by Billosaur · · Score: 5, Funny

    Spammer 1: We can't get anything past Google's filter.

    Spammer 2: Agreed. [sighs]

    Spammer 1: I guess we'll have to give up spamming.

    Spammer 2: Seems that way.

    Spammer 1: Unless...

    Spammer 2: You have an idea?

    Spammer 1: Why don't we keep spamming everyone else!

    Spammer 2: Rapture! You're so smart!

    --
    GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
  7. Re:Not giving up, just more Macs and Linux by wattrlz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mod parent +2 Optimistic Lovely sentiment, but that's kind of like saying, "It snowed this weekend because I installed compact flourescent lightbulbs in my house".

  8. Re:Well..... Not really. by s20451 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You remember when Bill Gates said spam would be over by 2006? Boy was he right -- I haven't had spam in my inbox in weeks. Thanks, Google.

    --
    Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
  9. Spam? What Spam? by Orleron · · Score: 2, Funny

    I dunno, spam's not so bad. After all these years on email, my penis is longer, and never flacid because of these cool pills I'm taking, and this Nigerian guy gave me a few million bucks, which I subsequently donated to charity to save that poor little boy, even though all he wanted was teddy bears and flowers. Bill, tell these people that there's no such thing as spam. Come on. Will ya?

  10. Re:My Experience by trcooper · · Score: 2, Funny

    Gmail freaking sucks. I get several spams TO MY INBOX every day. Frequently in some foreign language. There are 25 messages in my spam folder, and 5 in my inbox which are clearly spam just since midnight.

    Google is wrong both about spammers giving up and about the awsomeness of their filters.

    I'm not sure what my company uses, but Google should invest in that product... My corporate email has been listed on the interwebs for 10 years, and I MAY get a spam once a week, and usually that only gets to the blackberry for some reason, my outlook client catches the rest.

    Google is tooting their own horn way too much here. They have a lot they need to improve, they are clearly not the best in this area.

  11. Some are giving up by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 2, Funny

    Some spammers are giving up. Mainly because they realize that running botnets is a better way of making money.

  12. Note to spammers by jimlintott · · Score: 5, Funny

    Spammers, please take note that I actually have a large penis. Your assistance and concern, while appreciated, is simply not required.

  13. Re:My Experience by cmseagle · · Score: 3, Funny

    Subscribing to too many free porn websites are we?

  14. Checks Gmail... by kernelpanicked · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yep still 2GB of spam and maybe 3 real messages. Yeah your filters are teh roxxor Google. Jeez

    --
    Ubuntu: If at first you don't succeed, blindly slap a sudo in front of it
  15. Re:I've noticed... by Skim123 · · Score: 3, Funny

    But, again, it's obvious that 'granny' doesn't want the spam if she specifically signed up with an ISP that uses Bayesian Filters.

    How do you know that granny chose one ISP over another based on their spam filtering policies. Perhaps she chose the ISP that was listed first in the Yellow Pages, or the one that Carlos, the Cuban pool boy, recommended. And maybe those 'm@k3 Ur M3mBer B1gg3r' spams do catch granny's eye, and she forwards them on to Carlos.

    --

    I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

  16. Re:For Serious? by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 2, Funny

    This one does not require reading tfa Great! I mean after all, why start now?