Alerts
Microsoft Internet Explorer Vulnerability
December 15, 2008
Fake Microsoft Security Update
October 13, 2008
Malicious Spam Using Dramatic Subjects to Lure Users
July 7, 2008
TRACE Blog
Yet Another Malicious E-Card
December 30, 2008Another malicious 'e-card' attack was received and aims to download a Backdoor-trojan.
Malicious E-Card Spam
December 23, 2008Spammers are luring victims to a malicious webpage with the promise of an E-Card.
Social Networking Malware
December 17, 2008The bad guys are currently using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to distribute malware.
A closer look at Mega-D
December 11, 2008Taking a closer look on Mega-D's malicious behaviour and system infection.
Google Notebook Spam
December 10, 2008Google Notebook is being used by spammers to host spam content.
Botnets show signs of life
November 26, 2008The major botnets that were disabled when McColo was shutdown begin to show signs of life.
OVERVIEW - Week ending January 4, 2009
Spam as a Percentage of Email
This gauge represents spam as a percentage of total incoming email. The figure is derived from incoming email and other sources monitored by the TRACE team. Reports on the percentage of spam in email can vary wildly - anywhere from 30% to 90%. In fact the volume of spam fluctuates substantially from day to day and week to week. Also, different organizations and countries experience different volumes of spam. The TRACE team is currently seeing fluctuations between 75% to 95%.
Threat Statistics
Spam Volume Index (SVI)
The SVI is a measure of the volume of spam sent to a representative sample of the honeypot domains that we monitor. In November, spam volume dropped sharply when major spam botnets were disabled following the take down of the McColo network.
Threat Resources
- White Paper:
TRACE Report July 2008 - White Paper:
Defense-in-Depth Anti-Spam Engine - White Paper:
Rise and Fall of Image Spam
(updated March 2008) - White Paper:
TRACE Report December 2007 - White Paper:
SpamCensor Explained - User Discussion:
Marshal Forums
About Trace
TRACE (Threat Research and Content Engineering) is a group of Marshal security analysts who constantly monitor and respond to Internet security threats. TRACE provides a service to Marshal customers as part of standard product maintenance. The service includes updates to Marshal's unique, proprietary anti-spam technology, SpamCensor. TRACE analyzes spam, phishing and Internet security trends and provides frequent automated updates to Marshal customers. TRACE also provides "Zero Day" security protection to secure Marshal customers against new email and virus exploits the day they emerge.
The TRACE Center is a sample of the data-gathering and technical analysis methods that Marshal employs.
We will be adding additional statistics and new threat monitors over time so please check back regularly for news, information and new content.
Feel free to email the TRACE Team with any questions you may have: 
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