Spamdemic: Tracking the plague of junk mail

New Scientist has a graphic posted on spam. Not the luncheon meat, or the Monty Python skit, but that unwanted email. Tip of the hat goes to Flowing Data who posted about this.

Originally the canned meat product that threatened to engulf a 1970 sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus, spam now overruns the internet. With the rise of “botnets” – networks of “zombie” computers programmed to send out mass mailings without their owners’ knowledge – something like 9 out of every 10 emails are now unsolicited. Spammers have been dealt a few blows in recent years, but as long as there is money to be made they are unlikely to go away anytime soon.

via Spamdemic: Tracking the plague of junk mail – tech – 26 February 2010 – New Scientist.

This story written by Paul Adams

Paul Adams leads an award-winning, diverse contractor team that runs a federal high performance computing facility where he has worked for 17 years. He loves getting his hands on the latest visualization and computer hardware, astronomy, aerospace engineering, working with the poor, and ringing cowbells.