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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.'"
...all that cancer I've wished upon them.
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.
I have no other experience with hotmail, but my free webmail experience has consisted of Yahoo! and Gmail.
Let me tell you, Yahoo!'s spam rate has not improved. I am not sure if their filter isn't as good, or they are just taking money from the wrong people, but I get at least one spam message make it into my inbox per day, maybe 2-3. Oftentimes, the spamming links back to a geocities.com page. Coincidence? I don't know.
With Gmail, I get one spam message per month (maybe) make it into my inbox. They are so rare, its comforting. And since they are so few and far between, I actually use the 'Report Spam' option, because it looks like get this that their filters are actually updated with my input, and I don't see spam of that same type ever again.
This is different from Yahoo, I report spam all the time and yet the same exact message types make it past the filters into my inbox. I even report phishing there, but that doesnt' seem to help.
Can anyone with internal Yahoo webmail operation shed some light into what they actually do with user input? It would be nice to know that someone, somewhere (or at least a script) is using my button clicking for input.
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..."
I manage the spam firewall where I work, and I have seen a significant drop this month vs last month. In October we processed 20,000-30,000 emails a day, averaging near 25,000. In the month of November, we have only exceeded 20,000 in a day once, with most days falling short of 15,000. This months average is closer to what it was during the summer, we had seen the increase to around 25,000/day during August/September.
It's hard to imagine that spam filters have gotten to the point where spamming doesn't make economic sense. After all, the business model is something like
Even adding a couple zeroes to the recipient number (which improved spam filters should be doing) doesn't make much of a dent in the total expenses, if I understand correctly. Lawsuits under the CAN SPAM law, however, could make it too costly to get past step 1. Unfortunately, it seems like the judicial system still needs a little help here.
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
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".
Wrong, because the issue is not whether all spammers have quit (they haven't), but whether there is a decrease.
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.
Spammers, please take note that I actually have a large penis. Your assistance and concern, while appreciated, is simply not required.
Let's even imagine that spam filters were 99.99% accurate, what would be the benefit of not spamming anymore? It costs them nothing, so if they send out millions of spams per day and only get a few bites, they're still making a profit.
There's no incentive to stop spamming unless it becomes arduous to do so. Nether technology nor litigation are close enough to make that happen.
How much extra bandwidth would the internet have, if there was no spam bouncing around. I say we shut off port 25 on every router for just 6 hours and watch the bit torrents just scream :).
Have a moment of email silence.
According to the Official Google Blog, there has been little decrease in spam, except for the amount in users' inboxes.
I manage the spam firewalls where I work and track spam statistics every week,
2 months ago we received 20 million messages pr week and passed about 800,000 as legitimate mail
Last week we saw 41 million and the same 800,000 passed as legitimate messages.. that's 98% spam!!!
to break it down more..
41 million recieved
32 million rejections on RBL lists
9 million passed onto the spam filters.. 10% of that gets through.
This is for 1 week.
We keep seeing spam double every 2 months.. It's gota stop growing at some point right??
If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. --Red Adair