I used to get 400 spams per day for a year or so, then I discovered one of my ISPs (pacific.net.au) had a spam filter that was off by default. After activation my spam count went down to about 20 per day and is hovering around that figure ever since.
You'd think that about 17 years after spam was invented that it would have burnt out and slowed down a bit, but no way, it just seems to have moved from zillions of bottom-feeder small-time players to huge botnets. I always wonder how much of the spam I receive (most of it incomprehensible) actually makes a profit. A Google search on "global spam levels" hints that there has been a recent decline in volume, but it seems to be because a botnet called Rustock was shut down. But wait, more articles have headlines like "spam levels creep back", so it's just snakes and ladders with spam levels. Any form of communication invented by mankind will eventually be converted into an advertising source. I suppose it started with runes on rocks. It's a shame that SETI is being shutdown, as we'll never detect ads from nearby stars. Greg
