Spam (AKA unsolicited commercial e-mail or UCE) is
ubiquitous, annoying, wasteful. Spammers' tools becoming more sophisticated:
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New users who have never sent an e-mail are receiving
spam
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Open relays mercilessly exploited (attractive nuisances?)
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Many OSes unprotected against e-mail address discovery tools
Many users are "sitting ducks" for malware (Worms, "Trojan
worms") that propagates via e-mail
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ILOVEYOU took down British Parliament's mail server
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Hybris and Sircam plague users and administrators alike
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Windows client "monoculture" increases virulence
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Insecure MUAs/browsers make infection easy
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"Friends and Family" Trojan horses exploit existing relationships
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Invasion of privacy/security breaches via active content
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Antivirus vendors "play catch-up..." on purpose?
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