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ISP Review Looks Back @ 2002 |
 Despite the negative aspects, overall broadband has continued to dominate 2002 and will no doubt do the same into 2003. Strong demand will inevitably continue to push coverage, although the pace at which this occurs remains to be seen. Emerging Problems (Viruses & SPAM etc.) Unfortunately 2002 won’t just be known as the year broadband technologies came of age, in fact several much darker aspects have also become prevalent within the last 12 months. MessageLabs, a popular e-mail managed service provider and av firm, reported at the end of 2002 that 1 in every 8 e-mails now contained SPAM (junk e-mail); up from 1 in every 199 at the start of the year. Other groups, such as e-mail filtering firm Brightmail, have reported a growth from 8 to 40% over the same period.
Perhaps worse still is the fact that the problem is only going to get worse during 2003, it hasn’t even peaked yet. Thankfully measures are being taken to combat the problem, such as the EU moving to ban certain types of SPAM, yet this won’t come into force for at least another year. In the meantime software developers and ISPs are racing to develop and distribute effective anti-SPAM solutions, although so far too few people and companies have chosen to adopt such methods. SPAM wasn’t the only thing to haunt the Internet during 2002; advertising has also got significantly more aggressive. Not only have advertising banners (images) got bigger, they’ve also become more intrusive. Pop-ups that load by the dozen and others that simply won’t be closed are causing havoc for many surfers. Viruses, which were once confined to the realm of floppy disks, have also continued to be a nuisance with e-mail worms such as Klez.H and BugBear taking the top spots. Thankfully a greater use of anti-viral software combined with better awareness has managed to keep the situation in check; but make no mistake, it’s still a serious problem. Predictions Communication, if ever there were
a word to behold then that would be it. The vast majority of us talk,
make phone calls, watch TV, write and express ourselves in a variety
of different ways and all to the sum of that one word. 2003 will most
likely continue the trend of diversifying our ability to communicate
through new technologies, such as broadband. [Print Page | Next Page (4)]>>
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