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In a chilling indictment of the current state of the superhighway it has been revealed that 97% of all e-mails around the world can in some way be classed as spam. Despite the fact that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates suggested way back in 2004 that “spam” would be defunct within two years this is one forecast he got wrong!

However, it appears as though the online fraudsters and scammers are trying a new technique which is commonly known as scareware. In effect these are spyware programs which will warn you of potential problems with your system unless you download their security software and scan your machine. Of course, the software you download is packed with spyware and other potentially harmful programs which can cause havoc with your system.

We have seen scammers and fraudsters appeal to greed with promises of money, potential banking issues and other similar circumstances and now the fraudsters have moved on to fear. Many people are falling into the trap of clicking on these rogue “security software” programs as they are seriously concerned that their systems may be infected. How perverse that the scammers are now using the threat of spyware to actually force people to download spyware at a time when we should all be ignoring random and rogue requests without a second thought.

In a damning indictment of security on the Internet a Canadian security firm have exposed a Chinese spying operation which has gained access to nearly 1,300 computers in over 100 countries. The claims were prompted after the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama asked the Canadian outfit to check his association's computers for signs of spyware and malware. However, even those with the dimmest view of security on the Internet would have been surprised at the Pandora's box this open.

After cracking the code of various spy software on the machines of the Dalai Lama, this then opened the way to a totally new untapped cyber-world. It has been reported that the vast majority of machines being used to spy on users are located in China, although nobody is able to accuse the Chinese government, with confidence, of any serious involvement. The list of victims includes computer terminals in governments around the world, foreign embassies around the world and various corporations.

The truth is that spy rings such as this one have been ongoing since the Internet started. This has been one of the major issues with regards to the growth of the Internet and the ever increasing reliance of many people around the world. It is vital that we all take individual security measures which collectively would make life much more difficult for the spy rings.

As ?D' day comes ever nearer for UK based hacker Gary McKinnon it seems as though his legal team are about to try one last appeal against his forthcoming extradition to the US. After seemingly exhausting each and every avenue in his fight to escape up to 70 years in a US jail they have decided to try one last throw of the dice.

Those who have followed the case will be aware that Gary McKinnon is accused of hacking into top secret government networks in the US, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage and accessing top secret classified information. While he claims that he was only trying to unearth the truth about UFO's he left a string of messages across the system referring to the war on terror which has somewhat blown a hole in his defence.

However, he has accused US officials of saying they wanted him to ?fry' and a number of other threats which have given rise to concerns about his treatment in the US. So far the UK government has refused to block the extradition request and it looks as though Gary McKinnon will eventually stand trial in the US while undergoing a lengthy stay in jail before his trial even begins.

In a move which will concern many who depend upon the internet for their business it has been revealed that tens of thousands of Virgin Media broadband customers have not had access to their email accounts for up to four days. The group has been the victim of a spam attack over the last few days which has caused major problems with the group's email service.

While not all accounts have been suspended a number have been taken offline to try and clear the blockage in the system although no emails or data have been lost. Virgin Media claims that a number of other ISPs have been affected but aside from a slight outage for AOL over the weekend there has been no official confirmation from competitors as yet.

While spam is illegal and under recently introduced regulations can lead to the perpetrators spending time in jail if they persist, finding the culprits is easier said than done. Virgin Media will no doubt be undergoing a thorough review of its email operations and those of their email service supplier very soon. Customers can also expect a number of emails in the not too distant future warning how they can control the amount of spam which is received each and every day.

While the internet has many uses there are some areas of society which have made better use than others. The criminal fraternity were very quick to click on to closed sites where membership was very strict and few people had access to the inner workings. While the authorities cracked a large scale operation a few years ago, a new one by the name of ?DarkMarket' has just bee smashed leading to hundreds of arrests worldwide.

The ?DarkMarket' was only accessible by a very limited number of people and took the authorities a couple of years to crack. However, this labyrinth of criminal minds sees nearly everything you could ever want on offer from the latest credit card cloning machine for a mere œ5,000 or as many credit card personal details as you could ever hope to find.

Thankfully, ?DarkMarket' has been smashed and arrests made from New York to London and everywhere in between. We are not talking one off crooks, we are talking career criminals with access to the latest technology. It will be interesting to get the full picture when the cases go to court because we can probably learn something about securing our data in the future.

It has been revealed that Swiss researchers have managed to perfect four systems which can detect the keys which you are pressing on your keyboarding solely by monitoring the radio signals produced by individual keystrokes. Of the eleven different keyboards which they tested every one was at risk from at least one of the system used with one technique able to detect key presses from up to 20 metres away.

This could be a major headache for the computer industry and the ongoing fight against cyber crime and fraud. The systems which were tested even worked on keyboards embedded in to laptops although it was shown that non-desk top systems and those which operated on battery power were slightly less susceptible to the wireless snooping.

While the research is still at a very early stage and no definitive paper has been released yet there is a growing concern that more and more computer users are at serious risk of fraud even if they have actually installed the latest anti-spyware and anti-virus software. The ongoing fight against cyber crime seems to be a battle which cannot be won but it is one which must be persevered with to ensure that life for the criminals is made as difficult as possible.

In a move which could introduce substantial short term costs but long term efficiency savings it has been announced that the famous Transport for London (TfL) Oyster card may be on the way out. Those who visit this site regularly will be away that there were some security issues earlier in the year which may or may not have played a part in the contract being terminated early.

It seems as though TfL is looking at alternative systems which could revolve around smartcards, mobile phones or the direct use of bank cards. Whatever happens in the future there seems to be great pressure on the future of the Oyster card, something which Londoners have become very attached to over the years.

Last year O2 trialled a mobile version of the Oyster card, which proved fairly successful, but it seems as though this expense may well have been wasted. Security of systems such as that used by TfL has never been more vital and as the fraudsters and hackers become more astute we are actually starting to see the demise of some of the best know technology systems around.

The search for a new system to possibly replace the Oyster card has been put out to tender and it will be interesting to see what comes back.

In a move which has provoked an array of different emotions it has been announced that UK police forces will be in possession of hand held finger print scanners from 2010. The move which will cost tax payers in the region of œ40 million is the latest stage in the integration of new technology to allow officers to stay in the community for longer.

Currently those arrested or detained have to be taken back to a police suite in order to compare their finger print records with the 7.5 million records currently on file, but this device cuts that whole process out of the equation. At the scene of a crime or a possible arrest the officers will now be able to scan a suspect's finger prints on the device which will then interact with the main police database, via a secure encrypted data link, and check for matches.

While the civil rights campaigners are up in arms at the move there seems very little difference between taking a finger print at the scene than taking someone ?down to the station'. The œ40 million expense of the system will be chicken feed compared to increased efficiency savings.

As we reported earlier today, on one hand the government seems to be very keen to introduce new technology into the police force but the same cannot be said of the electoral system in the UK. Despite much mention and research into e-voting it has been confirmed that the authorities will not be putting forward any e-voting bills in 2008 or 2009.

There had been hopes that e-voting would encourage more younger people to vote in national, local and European elections but there seem to be a number of doubts about the service. It was used in the recent Mayor of London vote and while broadly successful it did encounter some criticism.

Security seems to be the main issue with many parties and voters unsure that total security can ever be guaranteed for a system which will depend upon email votes or online voting. Despite the fact that millions of pounds have been spent so far researching the idea, it was confirmed that these research programs will continue for the foreseeable future.

If at the end of the day the government was to turn around and reject the move they would have wasted millions of pounds of tax payer's money at a time when many tax payers cannot even afford to look after themselves!