Spam Plummets (for Now) as Big Provider Goes Offline

Notice less spam in your mailbox today? If so, it's because Internet service providers yanked a California outfit offline that had been responsible for sending about 75% of the world's electronic junk mail, reports the Security Fix blog in the Washington Post. The providers—acting on information provided by the Post's blog—terminated service to the Web hosting firm known as McColo.

Independent monitors reported a corresponding nosedive in worldwide junk mail today, notes Ars Technica. But how long will the reprieve last? When a similar shutdown occurred in September of a California company called Intercage, it took spammers only a few days to find a new home, the blog notes. (More spam stories.)