McAfee To Conduct Massive Spam Survey

Filed in archive Spam News on April 5, 2008

© freezelight

McAfee is conducting a massive experiment that involves volunteers using new laptops to respond to every single piece of spam they receive, sign up for competitions, make purchases online, and more. Called Spammed Persistently All Month, it will last 30 days. Records of their actions will be kept in an attempt to track spam patterns.
There are 49 volunteers in 10 countries.

"Spam is not just a nuisance, it is a tool used by cyber-criminals to steal personal and business data," said Christopher Bolin, chief technology officer at McAfee. "As scammers become more adept at writing spam in local languages it is becoming more difficult for internet users to detect spam. It is vital that users understand the risks of leaving their computers unprotected."

Is this a good idea or will it just serve to encourage spammers? Drop us a comment and let us know what you think!