In my last post, Spam – A Lucrative Parallel Economy in Europe, I wrote about the economics of spam according to a study by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Holz of Germany. Today I want to share more details from that study as well as a surprising discovery. When you think of spammer's databases of addresses, you may assume they're predominately populated with Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo!, or large, European... Continue »

With all of the diligence and innovation that goes into anti-spam technologies and initiatives, it’s hard to imagine that old-fashioned spam, meant to drive consumers to e-shops, remains profitable in any significant way. The profitability of phishing seems more obvious. Phishing attacks use common, emotional motivators to manipulate: false accusations (you owe us money!), trust (fake mails from... Continue »

European society has long recognized the power of a good reputation and the difficulty of repairing a damaged one. A few of Europe’s most renowned authors such as Victor Hugo, William Thackeray and Shakespeare created characters that thrived or suffered because of their reputation.  Some even argue that the concept of reputation as a social management tool was born in Europe during the Victorian... Continue »

  In the 1970s and 80s many Americans, myself included, listened to a radio show called, “The Rest of the Story”.  The show focused on a variety of stories and little known facts but always excluded one key (and most important) element that the host withheld until the very end of the segment.  After peaking listener’s curiosity with an interesting but an incomplete narrative, the host would, at... Continue »