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Spam levels soar above 90 per cent

Spam levels continued to rise last month and hit more than 90 per cent, highlighting the importance for internet users to ensure their online security solutions and habits on the web are up to scratch.

According to Symantec's monthly Intelligence Report, the rise to 90.4 per cent represents an increase of five per cent on the levels seen last month but the level is the norm rather than an exception.

Criminals are now exploiting computers whose online security has been compromised and the machines placed in botnets, which accounted for 58 per cent of the recorded attacks.

Paul Wood, senior analyst at Symantec firm MessageLabs, said: "As spam levels continue to increase, we are seeing existing attack techniques combine and morph into one.

"In 2008 Captcha-breaking, social networking spam and the use of webmail for spamming all became popular tactics. Today, the bad guys are using the three together as a triple threat to heighten the effectiveness of their spamming."

Regularly updated internet security software can help end users avoid falling victim to threats posed by the rogue messages.

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