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Spammers Use Internet Domains from Small Islands to Host and Send Spam

McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), today announced that its anti-spam researchers have been tracking a new trend nicknamed “spam island-hopping.” These island-hopping spammers use the domain names of small islands as Web site links in spam campaigns.  McAfee has traced spam activity from the Isle of Man all the way across the globe to the tiny tropical island of Tokelau.

Traditionally, spammers have used well known top level domains (TLDs) such as .com, .biz or .info. By using top level domains from small island countries, spammers attempt to avoid detection by using domains previously unknown to spam filters. Using a lesser-known top level domain changes the game and makes it harder to distinguish spam from legitimate e-mail by examining the links in the e-mails.

This trend was first discovered when McAfee researchers noticed a significant increase in the use of .st domains, which is the top level domain for Sao Tome and Principe, a small island off the west coast of Africa. This unusual activity raised flags for McAfee’s researchers, who then tracked the spammers on a virtual migration around the globe.  Subsequently, spam using top level domains from small islands has continued to increase.

McAfee has identified the following small islands as being favored by spammers:

TLD

Country

Land Area (sq. km)

Population

.tk

Tokelau

10

1,392

.cc

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

14

628

.tv

Tuvalu

26

11,810

.as

American Samoa

199

57,794

.im

Isle of Mann

572

75,550

.to

Tonga

748

114,689

.st

Sao Tome and Principe

1,001

193,413

*Above islands appear in order of land area

“This new trend is another example of spammers’ relentless quest to spread their abuse of Internet domains far and wide,” said Mr. Henry Yuen, Regional Manager, Taiwan and Hong Kong, McAfee. “Some of these islands have dozens of spammed domains per square mile.”

Stopping spam requires using advanced technologies like McAfee’s anti-spam products which use domain-name reputation, IP reputation filtering, and content filtering, to stop a new spam campaign in less than three minutes.

For more information on how to protect against spam and phishing, visit: www.mcafee.com/us/local_content/white_papers/anti_spam.pdf.

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee Inc., the leading dedicated security technology company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world. With its unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee empowers home users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers with the ability to block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously track and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com

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