World's 42 percent spam mails sent from US

By siliconindia News Bureau and IANS   |   Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 20:30 IST
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LOS ANGELES: Over 42 percent of all spam mails sent this year around the world came from the US. "This is evidence that America's anti-spam legislation simply is not working," IT Sophos researchers said in a report. In a list named the "dirty dozen," the US topped 12 countries from which most spam messages originate. South Korea and China came in second and third respectively, but together they sent just half as much spam as the US, reports Xinhua. The researchers also warned that many spammers are using hacked PCs with broadband connections to send out their spam. This could explain South Korea's position near the top of the list, as it leads the world for broadband penetration. "Spammers are motivated by one thing - quick, easy money, there are plenty of spammers who have taken their money-making schemes to the extreme by hacking into innocent third-party computers in an effort to do their dirty work," the Sophos report said. Sophos recommends that PC users should avoid purchasing anything that is advertised via spam, and to deploy a consolidated solution at the email gateway, which can protect them from both spam and viruses.