USA Reported As Greatest Originator of Spam

According to IBM X-Force, which just released a paper, spam this year (2010) has reached record levels, with United States topping the list of the chief countries distributing spam.

Reveals the paper, USA is pushing almost 10 percent of the worldwide e-mail junk. Brazil occupies the 2nd position on the company's Top Ten List, being accountable for 8.4 percent of all spam, while India follows next at 8.1 percent. Moreover, Russia has climbed onto No.4, pushing 5.3 percent of the world's spam, while Vietnam is on No.5, churning out 4.6 percent.

State the security researchers that this isn't the first instance whilst the U.S has been detected as the top originator of spam. In July 2010, security company Sophos said that the nation kept on being the most spam generating country, pushing 15.2 percent of the total worldwide spam.

Besides, during April-June 2009, the U.S relayed 15.6 percent of the worldwide spam and Brazil and Turkey followed just after at 11.1 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.

In the meantime, according to IBM X-Force's study, although the above mentioned countries have been identified as generating the maximum spam, they are not hosting the maximum web-links for spam that users are encouraged for clicking.

Instead, China is being the greatest culprit within this area, hosting over 33 percent of the total spam links. U.S occupies the 2nd place, being responsible for 17 percent of all spam URLs, while South Korea follows at 9 percent.

The security researchers, in their remark about this record growth in spam state that junk e-mails will remain an international problem till the time spammers are able to churn money from it. Spammers find it commercially viable if recipients numbering even a fraction respond by opening the malicious web-links.

Spam is as well capable of contaminating users' computers with malware. Already numerous PC operators are in the danger of malware infection owing to which their systems get added to an army of bots that spews spam. However, users can fight these spammers by deploying security software that's always maintained up-to-date as well as by restraining from opening e-mails that aren't solicited.

Related article: US Passes Baton to Asia in Spam Relay

» SPAMfighter News - 9/13/2010