1. Beefing Up E-Mail Security

In an effort to get tougher on spam and phishing attacks, e-mail security vendor IronPort Systems has launched a new capability that enables its appliances to assess the trustworthiness of Web links embedded in e-mails. The vendor’s new Web Reputation technology, rolled out this month, aims to increase the antispam functionality of its e-mail security appliances and is supported by its SenderBase Network security database.

For more on this:
- read full story from messagingpipeline.com, Feb 3 2006


2. Study Says ISP Filters Cutting Spam

ISP filters are largely responsible for a decline in e-mail spam, which is expected to continue declining through 2010, according to a report released Friday by Jupiter Research.

For more on this:
- read full story from messagingpipeline.com, Feb 3 2006


3. State of the Blogosphere, February 2006 Part 1: On Blogosphere Growth

It's been 4 months since last October's State of the Blogosphere report, so it's time to update the numbers! For historical perspective, you can see earlier State of the Blogosphere reports from July 2005, from March 2005, and from October 2004.

For more on this:
- read full story from sifry.com, Feb 6 2006


4. E-mail charging plan to beat spam

Big net firms are trying to stop spammers by charging to deliver e-mail messages.
AOL and Yahoo plan to charge fees of up to one cent (US) per message to those that sign up for the service.

For more on this:
- read full story from BBC News, Feb 6 2006


5. Microsoft opens up censored blogs

Microsoft has changed how it reacts to government calls to censor blogs.
Recently the software giant faced criticism for removing the blog of Chinese journalist Zhao Jing for writing about sensitive topics.

For more on t his:
- read full story from BBC News, Feb 2 2006


6. Google merges Gmail with chat

Google on Monday was set to launch Gmail Chat, which will let users send instant messages with one click from their e-mail account, see when contacts are online and save the chat history like an e-mail message.

For more on this:
- read full story from CNET news.com, Feb 6 2006


7. Blog world growing by leaps and bounds

According to the blog trackers at Technorati, a company that indexes and searches blog postings, the number of blogs online is doubling about every five and a half months .

For more on this:
- read full story from CNET news.com, Feb 6 2006


8. AOL and Yahoo! to charge for emails

AOL and Yahoo! are to start charging for sending emails. Both companies will still accept free emails but are offering the chance to pay to avoid their spam filters. By paying between a quarter and one cent per message companies will get preferential delivery of their messages.

For more on this:
- read full story from theregister.co.uk, Feb 6 2006


9. Google to Unveil New Chat Feature

Online search engine leader Google Inc. is wedding its instant messaging and e-mail services in the same Web browser, hoping the convenience will lure users from the larger communications networks operated by its chief rivals.

For more on this:
- read full story from Yahoo! News, Feb 7 2006