Tag Archives: email security

Vircom Releases State of Spam Survey Results

March 16, 2012 flashnewsrelease Leave a comment

Vircom Inc, a leader in email security has published its research on the state of spam. The research includes a comprehensive analysis from an online public survey held from December 2011 through January 2012.

Montreal, Canada, Friday – March 16, 2012 — Vircom Inc, a leader in email security has published its research on the state of spam. The research includes a comprehensive analysis from an online public survey held from December 2011 through January 2012. The survey results are presented in the form of infographics at http://www.vircom.com/en/lp/state-of-spam-in-2012/

Analysis of the survey reveals that half of the respondents use online mail services such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail. Most use such email services alongside work/school related email accounts. Nearly three quarters of the respondents use open public WiFi, exposing themselves to hackers looking to steal emails. A quarter or the respondents don’t carefully examine emails from banks and financial institutions. Such emails are often a target of phishing threats trying to steal banking credentials.

“Alongside spam, we also have malware threats and phishing campaigns that aren’t only a nuisance, but cause financial loss to the user,” said Damien Ramé, Head of Marketing at Vircom Inc. “Our survey found that nearly a third of the users open spam emails if they like the subject line. Also a significant number download malicious files from these spammers. Such trends showcase the importance of anti-spam tools and corporate policies to stop spam.”

The entire survey result can be found as an infographic on the Vircom website.

About Vircom:
Vircom Inc. is a software development and professional services company focused exclusively on email messaging security. Founded in 1994, Vircom is the only email security vendor to offer a wide range of deployment options, proprietary anti-spam technology, complete Windows™ infrastructure integration and premium customer service. Its award-winning products include modusMail™, modusGate™, modusGate™ VM and modusGate™ Appliance. Vircom technology is made available to several major security providers and businesses, and deployed through third-party vendors to customers in more than 100 countries. For additional information, please visit http://www.vircom.com or call 1-888-484-7266.

Press & Media Contact:
Damien Rame
Vircom Inc
460 Ste-Catherine West, suite 600
Montréal, Québec H3B 1A7 – CANADA
+1.514.845.1666 ext. 297
damien.rame@vircom.com

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Vircom Releases Preliminary Results from Spam Survey

January 27, 2012 flashnewsrelease Leave a comment

The survey is open to the public and relates to how users protect themselves against spam and phishing threats.

Montreal, Canada, Thursday – January 26, 2012 – Vircom Inc, a leader in email security has just released its preliminary findings from an ongoing spam survey. The survey is open to the public and relates to how users protect themselves against spam and phishing threats. The 3 minute survey can be found at www.vircom.com/u/spamsurvey.

Preliminary analysis reveals 45% of the respondents openly share address book and email credentials on social networks and more than three quarters connect to unencrypted WiFi hotspots in public locations. Both these types of activity lead to stolen and abused email credentials which are then used by spammers to collect email intelligence and spread additional spam and malware. Research also suggests that a quarter of respondents don’t regularly check email headers when reading bank emails. Such relaxed attitudes make users prone to spam(particularly phishing campaigns) which ultimately lead to stolen bank account credentials, and fraud.

“What’s the most interesting is how people react to spam once in their inbox. One out of 3 users are likely to read spam if the subject line strikes a chord with them. And more than half of them are likely to click spam links or download attachments,”said Marc Chouinard, Head of Anti-Spam and Malware Operations at Vircom Inc. “This goes to show the challenges corporate IT administrators face in curbing spam related security threats. Even with the most robust spam filters,end-user training is required to correctly handle spam.”

The survey will continue for the next few weeks. Participants are eligible to win regular prizes such as gift cards from BestBuy, Subway and Apple iTunes, along with a grand prize of the new iPhone 4S. After survey completion, Vircom plans to use the research data to optimize its spam fighting software as well as enhance corporate training for clients. Parts of the research will also be shared with the public.

BestBuy, Subway Restaurants, iTunes and iPhone are all trademarks owned and maintained by their respective owners.

Press & Media Contact:
John Kurien
Vircom Inc
460 Ste-Catherine West, suite 600
Montréal, Québec H3B 1A7 CANADA
+1.514.845.1666 ext. 253
john.kurien@vircom.com

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Online Survey on Spam and Phishing launched by Vircom Inc

December 16, 2011 flashnewsrelease Leave a comment

VircomInc, a leading provider of corporate mail security has launched an online survey on the topic of email spam.

Montreal, Canada, Friday – December 16, 2011 — VircomInc, a leading provider of corporate mail security has launched an online survey on the topic of email spam. The online survey is open to the public and targets by both corporate and personal users of email. The survey can be found at http://www.vircom.com/u/spamsurvey

“Spammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in both their approach and techniques used to harness email addresses. Our goal is to research how consumers’ behaviour and attitude make them susceptible to spam,” said Damien Rame, head of Marketing at Vircom Inc. “To make matters worse, spammers are not just content in sending advertising emails, but also dangerous malware and phishing messages. These types of emails compromise the end-users computer and result in identity-theft.”

The survey specifically questions behavior in regards to the use of social networking sites that access address books, unencrypted Wi-Fi usage at public hotspots and familiarity with known phishing techniques. The survey also covers end-user attitudes towards spam once it manages toarrive in their inbox.

The entire survey can be found at http://www.vircom.com/u/spamsurvey. Participants to the survey are eligible to win regular prizes such as gift cards from BestBuy, Subway and iTunes, along with a grand prize of the new iPhone 4S. Results of the survey will be released in Q1 of 2012.

Press & Media Contact:
Damien Rame
Vircom Inc
460 Ste-Catherine West, Suite 600
Montréal, Québec H3B 1A7 – Canada
+ 1 (514) 845-1666
damien.rame@vircom.com

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