Just when you thought the spam problem was easing...

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MICHAEL OSTERMAN ON MESSAGING
09/01/05
Today's focus: Just when you thought the spam problem was
easing...

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Zotob worm creates spam-spewing zombies
* Links related to Messaging
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Avocent
Network World Executive Guide: Reviewing Trends and Insights for
SMB Executives

Life is different for IT professionals at small and mid-sized
businesses, which don't have the luxury of hiring legions of
network experts. Read how network executives are keeping a firm
footing on an ever-shifting product landscape. Learn about
trends and insights surrounding VoIP and VPNs; plus get
commentaries from leading experts on storage strategies for
smaller businesses.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111778
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TROUBLE IN PARADISE?

As technologies such as VoIP emerge to advance networks, many
believe the tools to manage them are falling behind. Traditional
management software models simply can't keep up with the rate of
real-time change that today's applications sustain. Is there a
solution pending or should network managers rely on their own
innovations? Click here:
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_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Just when you thought the spam problem was
easing...

By Michael Osterman

Depending on whose spam statistics you follow, the spam
juggernaut has shown signs of slowing just a bit over recent
months.

MessageLabs' spam statistics show that the percentage of e-mail
it processed that was spam reached 94.5% in July 2004, but had
dropped to 65.2% in July 2005. AppRiver shows the percentage of
e-mail that is spam holding reasonably steady over the past six
months. Postini found that 88% of the e-mail it processed in
2004 was spam; the current figure is around 70%.

Then along came the Zotob worm. CipherTrust reported that it saw
a 14% increase in the amount of spam generated by the worm in
just a 24-hour period during the week of Aug. 15. The increase
was reportedly caused by Zotob's creation of hundreds of
thousands of new zombies that were each generating significant
amounts of spam.

What this points out is how vulnerable we all are to things that
are both within and totally outside our control. For example,
it's relatively easy to control Zotob, its variants and other
threats in an enterprise environment simply by maintaining
anti-virus, anti-spam and related defenses. While several high
profile organizations became infected by Zotob
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/082205-zotob.html> the
problem was eradicated fairly quickly. However, the millions of
home PCs that have a broadband connection are an easy target for
virus writers, since a large percentage of home PC users are lax
about maintaining their threat protection.

The obvious solution to the problem is for home users to update
their threat protection on a continual basis. Another good
solution is for ISPs to implement tools like MX Logic's Sender
Reputation Gateway that can identify individual subscribers
whose PCs have likely become zombies.

Until home users get their threat protection act together, or
until systems are in place to quickly identify and deal with
zombies, we will continue to be susceptible to sudden spikes in
spam and other messaging threats.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmsg6056>

2. 2005 salary survey <http://www.networkworld.com/nlmsg4020>

3. VoIP rollouts generate heat, power concerns
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmsg6285>

4. Cisco aims to simplify switch mgmt.
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmsg6059>

5. VoIP season about to heat up
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmsg6058>

Today's most-forwarded story:

VoIP rollouts generate heat, power concerns
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmsg6286>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Michael Osterman

Michael D. Osterman is the principal of Osterman Research
<http://www.ostermanresearch.com/>, a market research firm that
helps organizations understand the markets for messaging,
directory and related products and services. He can be reached
by clicking here <mailto:michael@ostermanresearch.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Avocent
Network World Executive Guide: Reviewing Trends and Insights for
SMB Executives

Life is different for IT professionals at small and mid-sized
businesses, which don't have the luxury of hiring legions of
network experts. Read how network executives are keeping a firm
footing on an ever-shifting product landscape. Learn about
trends and insights surrounding VoIP and VPNs; plus get
commentaries from leading experts on storage strategies for
smaller businesses.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111777
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Messaging newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/gwm/index.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE
VoIP

For the latest in VoIP, check out NW's Research Center on this
very topic. Here you will find a collection of the latest news,
reviews, product testing results and more all related to keeping
VoIP networks performing at their best. Click here for more:
<http://www.networkworld.com/topics/voip.html>
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