Spam King Arrest Won't Stem Junk Mail Tide

Clients will just switch to new spammers, says Andy Greenberg. The solution: make it expensive

By Ben Worthen, Newser User

Posted Jun 1, 2007 6:46 AM CDT

(Newser) – The vaunted arrest earlier this week of Robert Soloway, the "Spam King" from Seattle, won't do as much to stem the flood of junk email as the feds want to think it will, says Andy Greenberg in Forbes. The clients who paid to use his 'zombie" computers to forward their marketing pitches will just find another spammer.

Indeed, spam traffic didn't decrease appreciably since Soloway's Wednesday dentention, trackers report. The only way to stop spam is to remove the financial incentive, Greenberg argues. Hope looms with a new system that embeds encrypted digital signatures in messages, which would force spammers to register new domains frequently—at considerable cost—to avoid being blocked by the ISPs.

Newser on Facebook

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Feds Nab Top Spammer, Predict Junk Mail Drop

One of world's "top 10" spammers jailed; used "zombie" computers to send out millions of junk emails

(NEWSER) - The feds arrested one of the world's worst spammers yesterday—a guy so prolific they claimed net-users worldwide would notice a drop in junkmail as a result of his detention. Robert Alan Soloway used infected "zombie" computers to send out millions of messages, and continued to do so even after Microsoft won a $7 million judgment against him in 2005, the AP reports. More»

'Here You Have' Virus Slams Major Firms

Spam worm halts work at NASA, Comcast

(NEWSER) - An email spam virus swept through corporate America's inboxes yesterday, causing servers to be shut down at major operations including Comcast, AIG, Disney, and NASA. The virus spread through emails with the subject line "Here you have," which contained a link that downloads a virus that sends the same email to everybody in a user's address book. The Department of Homeland Security is investigating, reports ABC News . More»

Don't Get 'Tagged' By This Site

Social network spams contacts without permission

(NEWSER) - The US’ third-largest social network is also the world’s most annoying website, Sean Gregory writes in Time. An e-mail about photos from an ex-boss lured him to Tagged, only to lead him through a confusing registration that spammed all his contacts with an informal note. “I don’t have a ‘smiley-face’-style relationship with most of my old professors,” he moans. More»

Energy-Wasting Spam Also a Pain in the Earth

It hurts environment and productivity, authors say

(NEWSER) - Spam e-mails consume 20% of companies' energy budgets, enough collectively to run 2.4 million houses, says a study commissioned by the security firm McAfee. Most of the waste results from end users sifting through the 62 trillion junk items sent annually, eWeek reports. Eliminating spam would be the equivalent of taking one car off the road for each 200 employees in a 1,000-person company, according to the report.. More»

Computer Virus Targets Gullible Lovebirds

Clicking on heart images in email could turn your machine into spambot

(NEWSER) - A Valentine-themed spam campaign is underway, with a side dish of coercion and extortion, Computer Weekly reports. Users receive an email, ostensibly from a secret admirer, with a link to a website that downloads a bot called Waledec. Not only does Waledec co-opt the user’s address list and start sending out the same emails—it also installs a “rogue anti-virus program” that issues false alerts. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Spam King Arrest Won't Stem Junk Mail Tide

Clients will just switch to new spammers, says Andy Greenberg. The solution: make it expensive

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Internet • email • spam • Robert Alan Soloway • Internet security

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Feds Nab Top Spammer, Predict Junk Mail Drop

One of world's "top 10" spammers jailed; used "zombie" computers to send out millions of junk emails

'Here You Have' Virus Slams Major Firms

Spam worm halts work at NASA, Comcast

Don't Get 'Tagged' By This Site

Social network spams contacts without permission

Energy-Wasting Spam Also a Pain in the Earth

It hurts environment and productivity, authors say

Computer Virus Targets Gullible Lovebirds

Clicking on heart images in email could turn your machine into spambot

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Spam King Arrest Won't Stem Junk Mail Tide

Clients will just switch to new spammers, says Andy Greenberg. The solution: make it expensive

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Internet • email • spam • Robert Alan Soloway • Internet security

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Feds Nab Top Spammer, Predict Junk Mail Drop

One of world's "top 10" spammers jailed; used "zombie" computers to send out millions of junk emails

'Here You Have' Virus Slams Major Firms

Spam worm halts work at NASA, Comcast

Don't Get 'Tagged' By This Site

Social network spams contacts without permission

Energy-Wasting Spam Also a Pain in the Earth

It hurts environment and productivity, authors say

Computer Virus Targets Gullible Lovebirds

Clicking on heart images in email could turn your machine into spambot

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?