(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)
Take heart, when it comes to drowning in a sea of spam, you’re not alone.
Lately, I’ve been asked several times where it’s all coming from and sorry folks, it’s unlikely to have anything to do with your surfing habits, cookies from annoying websites or alien probes.
Spam is on the increase and there’s not a lot you can do to stop it.
Israeli specialist technology company Commtouch Software paints a grim picture of what’s happening now, and where we’re going.
Commtouch says internet spam attacks, particularly image spam and zombie-generated spam, have achieved alarming levels of 3.5 million attack patterns in a single day.
Each attack pattern is typically comprised of tens of thousands of e-mails. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Still on the topic of net threats, remember the old saying: You’re not paranoid, they really are out to get you? That’s the case for iPod-users with the news of nasties targeting Windows-based iPods. However, help is available from the lovely people at McAfee.
Meanwhile, if you fancy listening to a spot of poetry on your MP3 player, 57 Productions has launched a site that lets you do just that.