Spam, Trojans, Botnets on the Rise

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Spam is on the rise, along with an increase in trojans and botnets as well, warns computer security firm McAfee.

The company's latest threats report, issued Wednesday, indicates that spam jumped 80 percent from the previous period to become a record 92 percent of all email, reports Wired.

"If the economy could rebound as spam has done in (the) second quarter, we would all be much happier with our retirement accounts," the report said. "Spam has surged since the prior quarter, increasing nearly 80 percent. Last year’s spam fell drastically from previous quarters, in large part due to the shutdown of the McColo ISP."

McAfee also warns the dangers of auto-run malware and an increase in botnets, as well as password-stealing trojans, which are expected to double this year from 2008.

According to the threat study, prime targets include social-networking sites like Twitter, where URLs often are reduced in size.

"The caution that users usually apply when they view search results and news links disappears behind the obfuscating address," the report said.

View Wired's PDF of the report here.