Are they on holiday ?

[BeeE586]

I have AVG and Zone Alarm, do a full scan every two days and an update every evening. For the last week or so there have been no infections on the scan and only the very smallest of updates - sometimes nothing at all.

Are all the spammers, scammers and phishers and putters out of nasties taking a Christmas break ? Long may it last.

Eileen

[Hampshire]

Are all the spammers, scammers and phishers and putters out of nasties taking a Christmas break ?


Eileen

I can answer that question for you but first of all I need your bank account details so I can send your winnings from the Nigerian lottery :)

To be serious though I too have noticed few updates recently on AVG

[v.wells]

Could be that version expires soon and you need the 2010 version now!

[busyglen]

Mmmm! I wonder where I am going wrong?

I do an update every morning when I logon and some of the files have been a bit smaller and quicker, but I haven't missed a day. My scan runs in the afternoon, and I have only once had an infection. I also do a Malware scan regularly and so far nothing. Am I just lucky?

Glenys

[Marie C..]

Yes Glenys!
You're just lucky.
Mine does it's own scan and takes over three hours sifting through all my rubbish and then tells me all the nasties it has found but, like others, there have been few if any infections lately so either it's not working properly or, I, like you, am getting lucky or the scammers and such have GIVEN UP FOR THE TIME BEING.M

[BeeE586]

I can answer that question for you but first of all I need your bank account details so I can send your winnings from the Nigerian lottery :)



Naughty, naughty !!! http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp176/WHmessageboard/icon_wagfingerWH.gif

I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

Eileen

[David Tuson]

Are all the spammers, scammers and phishers and putters out of nasties taking a Christmas break ? Long may it last.

Eileen

I hope they don't read this posting - we could be in for heaps of problems sooner than we'd like. But, hey, lets think positive - they've gone on a long vacation out in the wop-wops where there are no internet cafes or circling satellites.

[Rove]

I'm sure many of you have read the article shown here dated 2 days ago.

One of the kingpins of the spam industry has been caught.



--------------


Spammer given $210,000 penalty
DAVID BARBELER
December 22, 2009

AAP

A Queensland man who headed up one of the world's largest online spamming operations has been given a $210,000 penalty.

New Zealand-born Lance Thomas Atkinson, 26, admitted to being involved in a large-scale spam sending operation that delivered emails to internet users all over the world.

The court heard Atkinson's spamming racked up as many as 140,000 reports in Australia alone.

Both his defence lawyer and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) last week submitted to the Federal Court in Brisbane that he should receive a $210,000 pecuniary penalty for the offences.

On Tuesday, Justice Andrew Greenwood agreed with the proposed penalty, adding a seven year injunction from sending spam and ordering Atkinson not to knowingly associate with any person involved in sending spam.

In his judgment, Justice Greenwood labelled the spam as "annoying and irritating".

"It requires computers to constantly update spam filters," he said.

However, he noted Atkinson had cooperated with the court.

[Hampshire]

I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

Eileen

|jumphappy

[David Tuson]

My spam filter blocked a message today with a subject "Put $9,000,000 in your bank account"

Wow - all my Christmases have arrived!!!! Marvellous, world cruises, houses in different countries, a different car for every day, etc., etc., etc.

Needless to say the message was simply deleted on the ISP and definitely not even opened.

[Flossy]

Don't know about anybody else, but up to now I seem to have escaped the dreaded lurgies of spam, or phishing stuff - perhaps my AV prog is doing what it ought. |bowdown| It seems to update almost every day, but I wouldn't have a clue one way or the other.

Just a thought, though, I use Outl**k for my email, that has a preview panel - I always thought this was OK coz I don't actually open any email till I've read it in the panel. But by using the preview mode, am I leaving things open to some evil little bug or other, squirming it's way through onto my computer ?

[Lincoln Lad]

Yes Flossy, previewing the e-mail can let nasties in. My advice is not to preview any e-mail received at all.

[Bronco]

About 2 months ago I ran an upgrade to my AVG program (not the daily update) and ever since then it runs the entire scan in less than 30 minutes where it use to take over 90 minutes. I have it set to update and then scan every morning. I have had no issues with any form of "bad stuff". I am running version 9.0. Hope this helps

[MarkJ]

Both his defence lawyer and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) last week submitted to the Federal Court in Brisbane that he should receive a $210,000 pecuniary penalty for the offences.

Which is like you or I being fined 50 pence maximum!

No wonder the defence lawyer was happy with the recommended fine.
These scumbags are making millions - quite literally - per year.



On Tuesday, Justice Andrew Greenwood agreed with the proposed penalty, adding a seven year injunction from sending spam and ordering Atkinson not to knowingly associate with any person involved in sending spam.


Riiiight..... of course he will ;)
Pretty much the same as he did *last time* he was caught.



In his judgment, Justice Greenwood labelled the spam as "annoying and irritating".

"It requires computers to constantly update spam filters," he said.

However, he noted Atkinson had cooperated with the court.

Understatement of the century! Yes, these particular spammers are not causing the same problems as the scum who attempt to steal passwords or infect your PC, but they are responsible for a good proportion of the spam we suffer daily. Lance and his cohorts are peddlars of "enhancement" and "herbal remedy" spams - which I am sure we have all seen.

10 years inside would be more of a deterrent than a tiny (in proportion to their earnings) fine.

Mark