The Deadly Duo: Spam and Viruses, July 2003

Good news, bad news, and worse news found in the month’s figures.

There’s good news and bad news in July 2003’s monthly spam figures: the good news is the spam volume only rose 1 percentage point over the previous month; the bad news is that the tipping point has been reached, as Brightmail’s Probe Network classified 50 percent of all measured email as unwanted messages.

It gets worse: July 2003’s 50 percent figure represents a substantial increase since July 2002 when the spam volume was only 37 percent. Spam has increased steadily since the first half of 2002, with the largest gain measured in June when the volume swelled to 34 percent over May’s 22 percent.

Jupiter Research (a unit of this site’s corporate parent) did a comparative analysis of email sources from 2002 and 2003, indicating the upward trend in spam and the decrease among other sources to primary personal email accounts.

Sources of Consumer E-mail
Type 2002 2003 Change
Spam 35% 44% +9%
Friends & family 34% 31% -3%
Opt-in 17% 16% -1%
Work or school 8% 5% -3%
Other 6% 4% -2%
Source: Jupiter Research/Ipsos-Insight Individual, June 2003, 4,046 U.S.
adults Jupiter Research/ The NPD Group, Inc., May 2002, 4,295 U.S. adults

Brightmail noticed that the largest spam increase during July 2003 was in the “health” category — gaining 9 percent over the previous month — while unwanted messages for “products” dropped 17 percent.

July 2003 Spam Category Data
Type of Spam June July Change
Health 3% 12% +9%
Internet 2% 7% +5%
Scams 4% 9% +5%
Leisure 5% 8% +3%
Adult 12% 14% +2%
Other 13% 14% +1%
Spiritual 2% 1% -1%
Financial 22% 15% -7%
Products 37% 20% -17%
Source: Brightmail’s Probe Network

Internet users have reached spam saturation and are overwhelmingly in favor of legal measures, according to a July 2003 collaborative survey from ePrivacy Group and Ponemon Institute of nearly 1,100 U.S. adults.

The study found that 79 percent of respondents think unwanted email should be legally banned or limited by the law, and 74 percent believe there should be a federal “do not email” list. More than half (59 percent) would like to see spammers punished, with 80 percent of that group indicating that consumer lawsuits would be an adequate punishment, followed by federal authority (70 percent), and law enforcement (61 percent).

“In general our study suggests that consumers want government to provide greater protection against spammers,” commented Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Ponemon Institute.

Respondents rated unwanted email on par with telemarketing as the marketing practice that is most annoying to them, while more than two-thirds found unwanted postal mail as the least annoying.

Nearly half of the respondents (47 percent) found that email comprised 25 percent to 50 percent of their normal volume, and most (36 percent) spent between 10 and 30 minutes dealing with unwanted email, with another 32 percent devoting between 30 and 60 minutes.

In addition to the wasted time, Internet users are losing trust in the communication tool. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) claimed to have received an email from a legitimate, well-known company only to discover it to be a forgery, and 46 percent opened what they thought to be a legitimate email and got pornography or a virus instead.

Continuing the good news/bad news trend is the July 2003 computer virus data from Central Command, Inc. Steven Sundermeier, product manager of the anti-virus company, reported that there were no new significant virus outbreaks during the month, but one of the more damaging worms has become the most prevalent again.

“After relinquishing the top spot over the past couple months, Worm/Klez.E once again regains the peak position,” commented Sundermeier. “What we have seen with Worm/Klez.E is unparalleled to any past Internet worm, as it continues to show extraordinary staying power.”

Worm/Klez.E has been the most prevalent virus according to Central Command’s tracking for twelve of the previous fifteen monthly Dirty Dozen reports.

July 2003 Dirty Dozen
Rank Virus Percentage
1. Worm/Klez.E 19.2%
2. Worm/Sobig.E 17.9%
3. Worm/BugBear.B 17.6.7%
4. Worm/Sobig.A 6.6%
5. Worm/Sobig.C 4.2%
6. W32/Sircam.A 2.9%
7. Worm/Ganda 1.8%
8. Worm/Hawawi.E 1.6%
9. W32/Funlove.4099 1.5%
10. Worm/Avril.A 1.2%
11. W32/Yaha.E 1.2%
12. W32/Nimda 1.0%
Others 23.3%
Note: The table above represents the most prevalent
viruses for July 2003, number one being the most frequent.
Source: Central Command, Inc.

Brightmail defines the categories as follows:

  • The health category offers health-related products or services, such as herbal remedies or medical treatments.
  • Internet- or computer-oriented emails are those that advertise related products or services, such as Web hosting, or design.
  • Scam messages contain fraudulent or intentionally misguiding content.
  • Leisure-related messages are those advertising prizes, awards, discounted travel, online games and casinos.
  • Adult-oriented spam refers to offerings for offensive or inappropriate material, intended for persons over the age of 18.
  • “Other” encompasses miscellaneous messages that do not pertain to any of the specified categories.
  • Spiritually oriented messages include offerings for psychics, organized religion, and astrology.
  • Financial marketing messages are those that make reference to money, the stock market, credit reports, loans, and investments.
  • Product-oriented messages advertise general goods or services.

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource