Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook Talking technology, computers, and the Internet… for the average computer user

Have you seen a decrease in spam email these days?

Spam Plummets as Gang Leaves Net

Two US internet service providers have pulled the plug on the firm McColo following an investigation by the Washington Post newspaper.

Anti-spam firm Ironport has seen junk mail levels drop by 70% since McColo was taken offline on 11 November.

But, it warned, it will be a temporary respite from the menace of spam.

“It is an unprecedented drop but will be a temporary outage as the networks move from North America to places where there is less scrutiny,” said Jason Steer, a spokesman for Ironport.

I have to admit: I hadn’t noticed, not until I really looked. Yes, I have seen a lot less spam– for certain things, anyway. I don’t see as much pharmaceutical spam, but I still see a lot of “credit loans” and “cruise winnings,” and even an occasional “Ferrari parts” or “credit reports” stuff. I’ve seen a vast increase in phishing emails. But, yes, I have seen a decrease in spam.

I’m not too heartened by the news that the spam decrease is temporary. :-p