Ipswitch Says That Spam Has Sprung

Published 25th April 2006

Messaging Expert Warns That Spam Has Bounced Back After Christmas Low...

Ipswitch, a leading developer of network management, messaging and file transfer solutions, today announced that its latest survey reveals 62% of all email received is spam, compared to 57% just a few months ago. Ipswitch last ran its survey at Christmas time with promising results, however it seems that Spammers are now back to business.

Surprisingly, emails offering porn were the most prevalent type of spam received this quarter making up 24% of the total spam - an increase 18% on the previous quarter. Mortgages and loans were still a favourite coming in second, making up 18% of spam emails gained over the Easter
break, however dropped from the top spot from the previous Spamometer.

1. Pornographic - 24% - (Up from 2)
2. Mortgages - 18% - (Down from 1)
3. Medication - 17% - (Up from 5)
4. Electronics/Pirated Software - 16% - (New Entry)
5. Lottery and Gambling - 10% - (Non-mover)

Spammers seem to be taking a seasonal approach with their offers. The Christmas gift token offers fell from 16% to 2.5% of spam making way for opportunities to spring clean your system with medicinal and beauty offers. The Easter bunny paid a special visit in junk mail folders by
advertising enticing electronics and pirated software offers that comprised 16% of the total spam emails received.

"The results from our quarterly research clearly indicate that spam isn't going away anytime soon. Even though we noticed a decrease in spam over the Christmas period, spam is again on the increase," comments Ipswitch Sales Director for Northern Europe, Chris Greaves. "Businesses
should be careful not to fall into a false sense of security as spammers are forever coming up with new ways to target their networks. Whether it be via Instant Messaging, email or SMS, it is paramount for companies to endeavour to monitor their IT systems and protect their networks."

"The spammers are remaining highly active and are showing how they play the dynamics of the seasons and of "hot topics" in their approach," comments Quocirca analyst Clive Longbottom. "With email volumes growing rapidly, and the percentage of this being spam also growing, we are unlikely to see spammers give up yet. As spam becomes even more creative, the only way to really hit the spammers is to stop their messages from getting through to the recipients - after all, an unread message won't be replied to."

Ipswitch's leading messaging solutions, IMail Secure and Ipswitch Collaboration Suite (ICS), provide solid, scalable, standards-based messaging and group collaboration with anywhere access to email and administration via any Web browser, plus secure instant messaging, group calendaring and scheduling as well as access to shared Outlook folders. With IMail Secure and ICS 2006 Premium Edition, Ipswitch continues to offer integrated industry-leading protection against spam, phishing attacks and viruses using Symantec Scan Engine carrier-grade anti-virus
technology and Mail-Filter's language-aware, automatically updated anti-spam technology.





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