Edupage, December 06, 2006

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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association
whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting
the intelligent use of information technology.
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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2006
  Spam on the Rise (Again)
  Washington State Sees First Spyware Settlement
  MySpace to Screen for Sex Offenders
  Microsoft Set to Release Test Version of Book Search
  Hackers Take Down Naval War College Site

SPAM ON THE RISE (AGAIN)
According to spam-filtering company IronPort Systems, spam doubled from
last year to this year, now representing more than 90 percent of all
e-mail traffic. Much of the increase is attributable to image spam,
which quadrupled over the same period of time and now accounts for
between 25 and 45 percent of all spam. With image spam, text is
converted to graphics, which can be read by individuals who receive
them but not by spam filters on the lookout for words and phrases that
can identify a message as spam. The recent rise in spam comes after the
passage in 2003 of federal legislation intended to limit junk e-mail
and a prediction by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates that same year that
the problem of spam "will be solved by 2006."
CNET, 6 December 2006
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6141262.html

WASHINGTON STATE SEES FIRST SPYWARE SETTLEMENT
The state of Washington has reached its first settlement under a new