While U.S. companies are continually encouraged to invest in defenses against major IT terror attacks, it is the little terrors of spam that currently take the greatest productivity toll. The spam flood, along with its promises of riches, sexual solicitation, and myriad scams and hoaxes, washes daily through corporate Americas e-mail servers and in-boxes. Accessing your e-mail on a handheld mobile device can make good business sense until you realize that the spam monster has trailed you from your desktop to the handheld.
It may be impossible to stop spam, but it is not impossible to slow it down, filter it out and reject it directly into the trash bin. This weeks special report, “How to Slam Spam,” takes on the task of helping corporate IT managers put the brakes on spam. As part of this weeks special report, eWeek Labs looks at three approaches to blocking spam. Two of the technologies work at the e-mail gateway level, trying to eliminate spam before it reaches the desktop, while the third technology works at the desktop level.
While eWeek Labs examines the little threats of spam, Dennis Fisher from our news department examines how real the threat of a major IT terrorism attack is. As the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks nears, the question of whether our IT systems are substantially safer has become more intense. For a balanced look at the current IT security debate, see Dennis article. And for our opinion on where the federal government should take an active role in IT security and where it should stay out, see our editorial on the topic.
Last week, LinuxWorld took place in San Francisco. As Linux continues to attract corporate attention, the number of vendors lining up to proclaim their loyalties to open systems continues to grow. For a report on Suns show of support for a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) solution, see Darryl Tafts article. While users have dived wholeheartedly into the value of Linux on the server side, the client side of Linux has found a lackluster reception. However, as our story “Linux Desktop Due” states, vendors are now contending that Linux on the desktop is ready for the corporate user. The first act of the Linux revolution was driven by users. Well see if the second act, the desktop act, can be driven by vendors.
How is your company handling spam? Let me know at eric_lundquist@ziffdavis.com.
