A Directory of Spam-like Intrusions

A week or so back I wrote in my WSJ.com column about language and the Internet, Evoiding Pedestrian Ways (subscription only, I’m afraid) in which I explored some new words and how they catch on: People have been coming up with new words for a long time. But the Internet may be shifting the balance, not … Read more

The Blue Frog Claims Some Early Success

Blue Security, the anti-spam company I wrote about somewhat skeptically for WSJ.com (subscription only, I’m afraid) a few months back, are claiming initial success in their Do Not Intrude Registry. (Simply put, users sign up for the service and Blue Security threatens a kind of mass ‘visit’ to any spammer that continues to spam any … Read more

Which is Bigger? Porn Or Phishing?

Less than two years ago no one had heard of phishing and getting my editors excited about it as a problem wasn’t a cakewalk. Now, according to a report in SiliconRepublic.com, it’s bigger than porn spam: Since the beginning of this year, the number of phishing scams has risen from 1pc to 8.3pc of the … Read more

Plaxo Etiquette: Moral High Ground Or Cheap Stunt?

Plaxo, the online contacts exchange that got some good, and bad, press two years back, is trying to brush up its members’ manners with some Plaxo Etiquette: Each and every new technology has a learning curve as we figure out how to use it, and use it well. Remember when you’d frequently see people talking … Read more