Is spam losing importance in cyber crime today? No, it's just a slight decrease, probably due to the fact that the Holidays were a time for spending hours at home, near the PC and when every mail that read "free [insert holiday item here]" was clicked upon. The decrease shouldn't 'worry' us, spam is still strong and willing to commit to our every-day life.

SoftScan, a security firm, noted that there's only so little difference between the numbers in December 2007 and January 2008. Moreover, they suggested that a big jump would be noted from February. Diego d'Ambra thought that the real reason spam dropped was because many PCs were received as gifts for the Holidays, and the old and infected computers were taken offline, to leave room for the new ones.

This situation is a triple-edged sword, in my opinion. First, the old computers will most likely not be locked away in some garage and left there to rust, they will eventually get to somebody, so the moment that happens, there'll be double the trouble. Secondly, despite every system including good protection in the package, users still do not do their best to keep their computers clean, and thirdly, with the current increase in broadband, the amount of such unsolicited email will rise some more, due to the speed. Triple edged, and neither of the three will suit users better.

D'Ambra told Web User that there might be some additional reason for the decrease, but I think he just added them to the list to give us hope: "Either the spammers are content with the data they have collected so far and don't see the need for sending large waves of spam or they are busy working on new tactics. Although we don't expect to see a return to December's levels just yet, I'm sure it will only be a matter of months." Not too much hope.