The Government of Canada recently re-introduced anti-spam legislation, titled the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act (FISA), in the House of Commons. The goal of the proposed legislation is to deter damaging and deceptive forms of spam and help drive spammers out of the country.

FISA is an important step in the ongoing fight against spam. The May 2010 MessageLabs Intelligence Report indicated that, in Canada, 89.4 per cent of email was spam. The global ratio of spam was 90 per cent.

Analysis revealed that nine out of 10 spam emails now contain a URL link in the message. In May, five percent of all domains found in spam URLs belonged to genuine web sites. Of the most frequently used domain names contained in spam URLS, the top four belong to well-known web sites used for social networking, blogging, file sharing and host other forms of user-generated content.. Motorola BC 50 Battery Retail Packaging

Domains belonging to well-known web sites tend to be recycled and used continuously compared with “disposable” domains which are used for a short period of time and never seen again. This is perhaps because some work is involved in acquiring them: the legitimate domains require CAPTCHAs to be solved to create the large numbers of accounts that are then used by spammers.

While Rustock is the botnet that uses the greatest number of disposable domains, Storm, which has recently returned to the spamming scene, is the only botnet that uses genuine domains in greater number than disposable domains.

Sixty-five per cent of spam from the Storm botnet uses a legitimate domain, many of which are for URL shortening services. Disposable domains are often used quickly after being first registered, and on average, 50 per cent are used within nine days, before spammers switch to newer domains.

 

Also, MessageLabs Intelligence intercepted a malware attack featuring the theme of The FIFA World Cup competition that starts in June. Composed in Portuguese and featuring the branding of one of the event sponsors, the email was sent from an IP address in Macau, China.

Once downloaded and activated, the malware produces files that generate pop-up messages and in the background collects information on what other machines are on the same network, enabling the attacker further access to the compromised computer.

The May level of email-borne viruses in Canada was one in 230.9, while the global ratio was one in 211.6. Malware may penetrate an organization in many ways, including drive-by attacks from compromised websites, Trojan horses and worms that spread by copying themselves to removable drives.

The most frequently blocked malware for the last month was the Sality.AE virus, which spreads by infecting executable files and attempts to download potentially malicious files from the Internet.

With spammers and cyber criminals remaining as active as ever, legislation such as FISA can help flush out malicious and illegitimate activities and make sure that Canadian organizations follow better business practices.

Matt Sergeant, is a Senior Anti-Spam Technologist for  Symantec Hosted Services 

We live in an increasingly mobile world and the decision to extend brand communication to the mobile channel seems inevitable.  On the other hand, making this decision in a way that will pay off in the long-run is a less apparent process.

Mobile data measurement brings with it challenges that are very different from fixed web measurement.  For example carrier restrictions, platform variations and mobile browser limitations are such that mobile product applications don’t easily lend themselves to uniform measurement across devices.  In order to be able to use data as a strategic asset, measurement standards must be such that they can be applied to a wide range if devices.

Taia Postalati

Interactive Ontario recently hosted an AMA webinar featured Greg Dowling, Vice President of Mobile Strategy & Measurement at Semphonic and former Head of Analysis for Nokia.  Dowling was leading Nokia’s recent initiative to implement first worldwide mobile analytics measurement standard, and his insights can be applied to mobile marketing.

Looking at mobile phone penetration by manufacturers, Nokia leads the way with over a third of the worldwide handset market.  In the smartphone category, Nokia’s Symbian operating system makes up just over half of the smartphones used globally, followed by RIM at 20 per cent and iPhone at 15 per cent. (Gartner)  However iPhone owners use their devices much more than the owners of any of its competitors do.

Nokia’s approach to mobile product extension for its clients begins by aligning brand objectives with mobile strategy. 

 Lack of a definitive mobile strategy is the biggest challenge to generating a positive return on investment in mobile products.  Often times, the decision to create a mobile product is tactical rather than strategic.  At this early stage in mobile marketing adoption, this may very well be a viable approach.  However without relevant functionality and broad handset reach, a mobile product is simply a branding exercise designed to attract consumer’s attention instead of focusing on conversion.. LG Mobile LGIP 580A Vu Battery

Determining a brand’s mobile suitability means asking what it is about a brand that is compelling to a mobile audience.  Moving an entire website to the mobile web or building an application is not always the best way to communicate with consumers. 

In many cases a simple but well executed text messaging campaign is more fitting.  For example, a brand that handles perishable inventory, like a restaurant, will likely have a customer base that is interested in being notified about promotions.  Another company that has several locations in an urban centre, like a retailer, will likely have customers who want to be able to find a nearest location on their cell phone.

When you’re thinking about how to structure your mobile product offering you have to be mindful of the range of devices in the hands of your consumers and also have clearly articulated brand objectives.  If you want to get into mobile you should begin the strategy process now.

The Wall Street Journal’s discovery about the shady privacy practices of some of the world’s largest social networks came as a surprise and probably won’t help any of the big names they mentioned. In what the WSJ unfortunately characterized as a ‘privacy loophole’ exploited by such organizations as Facebook, MySpace, Hi5 and Digg, the social networks were found to send personally identifiable data about site users directly to advertisers.

Claudiu Popa

 

While apathy about their own privacy policies and their own users’ protection caused this gross mishandling of information, the recipients of that information, an august bunch including Google, Yahoo and DoubleClick, simply said they didn’t know the data was included or that they didn’t want it in the first place. LG Mobile LGIP 330GP Neon Battery. But no one actually bothered to insist that it not be sent in the first place so that liability could be avoided in case of a breach (or the current outrage at the clear exploitation of user information). Yahoo actually went so far as to say they “prohibit the sending of personally identifiable information”, yet there it is.

 

This type of blatant abuse not just of personally identifiable information, but of the public’s tolerance for greed-driven privacy transgressions should be coming to an end any day now, with a weekly onslaught of breaches and compromises. But so far it hasn’t and we’re left wondering how much more is left for these large organizations to push the envelope on, data-wise. How much more milking of individual user identities, usage patterns, online behaviors, shopping preferences and personal interests can possibly be turned into profit at the expense of privacy?

We live in an increasingly mobile world and the decision to extend brand communication to the mobile channel seems inevitable.  On the other hand, making this decision in a way that will pay off in the long-run is a less apparent process.

Mobile data measurement brings with it challenges that are very different from fixed web measurement.  For example carrier restrictions, platform variations and mobile browser limitations are such that mobile product applications don’t easily lend themselves to uniform measurement across devices.  In order to be able to use data as a strategic asset, measurement standards must be such that they can be applied to a wide range if devices.

Taia Postalati

Interactive Ontario recently hosted an AMA webinar featured Greg Dowling, Vice President of Mobile Strategy & Measurement at Semphonic and former Head of Analysis for Nokia.  Dowling was leading Nokia’s recent initiative to implement first worldwide mobile analytics measurement standard, and his insights can be applied to mobile marketing.

Looking at mobile phone penetration by manufacturers, Nokia leads the way with over a third of the worldwide handset market.  In the smartphone category, Nokia’s Symbian operating system makes up just over half of the smartphones used globally, followed by RIM at 20 per cent and iPhone at 15 per cent. (Gartner)  However iPhone owners use their devices much more than the owners of any of its competitors do.

Nokia’s approach to mobile product extension for its clients begins by aligning brand objectives with mobile strategy. 

 Lack of a definitive mobile strategy is the biggest challenge to generating a positive return on investment in mobile products.  Often times, the decision to create a mobile product is tactical rather than strategic.  At this early stage in mobile marketing adoption, this may very well be a viable approach.  However without relevant functionality and broad handset reach, a mobile product is simply a branding exercise designed to attract consumer’s attention instead of focusing on conversion.. Wall Chargers

Determining a brand’s mobile suitability means asking what it is about a brand that is compelling to a mobile audience.  Moving an entire website to the mobile web or building an application is not always the best way to communicate with consumers. 

In many cases a simple but well executed text messaging campaign is more fitting.  For example, a brand that handles perishable inventory, like a restaurant, will likely have a customer base that is interested in being notified about promotions.  Another company that has several locations in an urban centre, like a retailer, will likely have customers who want to be able to find a nearest location on their cell phone.

When you’re thinking about how to structure your mobile product offering you have to be mindful of the range of devices in the hands of your consumers and also have clearly articulated brand objectives.  If you want to get into mobile you should begin the strategy process now.