SPAM Continues to Trend Upward;

So how do spam trends related to cloud computing? It all depends on how you block and fight SPAM.

According to the Q2 2009 Spam Trends report published by the team at Google Postini Services, spammers have developed means of releasing days worth of spam in just hours. If you are manage spam from within your network, this means your Internet connectivity and servers are more susceptible to performance degradation and failure.

Across our customer base, ~92% of email is spam. Most spam is sent to invalid email addresses. This traffic chews up bandwidth inbound. If it hits your servers, it increases the disk space used for log files as well as outbound bandwidth for non-delivery report messages.

If you stop spam in the cloud, you protect your network and server performance regardless of the volume of spam targeting your domain.

Click Here and Here to learn more ...

SPAM Volume Jumps 1.2% PER DAY in First Quarter

Google Postini Services issued its quarterly Threat Advisory. Even with the dismantling of the McColo Botnet in 2008, the volume of spam is increasing at a daily rate of 1.2%. This compares with a daily increase rate of 1% during the same quarter last year.

If you have spam protection, why does this matter?

If you run in-house spam filtering using Barracuda, GFI, or other appliance or software solutions, the continued increase in spam is hurting your network and system performance. In-house solutions may keep spam out of your inbox, but they do not keep spam from consuming your Internet bandwidth. Many solutions also do not prevent your Email server from wasting resources processing spam messages.

Hosted, or cloud-based, solutions stop spam and viruses before they hurt Internet and email server performance.

Click here if you want to learn more ...

Last Minute Invitation

If you are in the area and can leave work a little early, please join Horizon Info Services at the Corridor Nine Chamber's Open for Business Expo.

It is a great opportunity to see our Cloud Computing solutions first-hand, including Google Apps Premier Edition, Google Security and Compliance Solutions, and our industry-leading online backup and recovery solutions.

WHERE: Doubletree Westborough, MA
WHEN: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
COST: FREE

We hope to see you there.

GMail / GTalk Phishing Scam

ZDnet is reporting a phishing scam targeting users of Gmail and Gtalk services. The scam provides an "account termination" warning and asks users to click a link to a fake site that asks for login credentials.

What to do?

1. NEVER give your login credentials to fix an "account problem"
2. Run Google Apps Premier Edition and activate the Google Message Security (Postini) service. Messages like these get caught.

Pundits Mix, Match, and Misunderstand Google's Enterprise Solutions

On February 11, Keith Ferrell posted a blog entry at bMighty.com entitled Google Apps: Right For The Small Business Buck? (And Does Google Even Want Your Bucks?). In the article, Mr. Ferrell confuses the market positioning of Google's Message Encryption Service, part of the Google Apps Security and Compliance Suite, with Google Apps Premier Edition as these services apply to small and mid-size businesses.

In my response, I clarify the differentiation between services targeting companies with internal messaging infrastructures and those for which Google Apps can provide the messaging services. I also point out that Google is not walking away from companies with fewer than 50, or even 250 users.