Panda Security has released its latest analysis of internet SPAM between January and February 2010. It reveals that the United Kingdom (UK) is responsible for churning out 2.34% of the worlds junk email, ranking us 12th place overall. Brazil (13.76%), India (10.98%) and Vietnam (5.71%) head the table.

Country (Spam Output %)
1. BRAZIL 13.76%
2. INDIA 10.98%
3. VIETNAM 5.71%
4. KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 6.32%
5. UNITED STATES 5.46%
6. RUSSIAN FEDERATION 2.85%
7. CHINA 2.26%
8. ROMANIA 2.53%
9. COLOMBIA 2.37%
10. GERMANY 2.17%
11. POLAND 2.31%
12. UNITED KINGDOM 2.34%
13. ARGENTINA 1.86%

The 5 million emails analyzed by PandaLabs came from a total of almost 1 million different IP addresses, meaning that on average each address was responsible for five spam messages (each IP could identify one or more computers). SPAM messages are used primarily either to distribute threats or sell illicit products.

These days most UK ISPs provide anti-spam tools or employ server-side measures to help filter out the bulk of junk email. It should be pointed out that the UK has improved and there was a time when we were far higher. Unfortunately the most effective anti-spam methods often catch legitimate messages too.

In related news the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) has found that almost half of consumers in North America and Western Europe have engaged with spam in their inbox, with 11% clicking on a link and many others forwarding or replying to the spam. Of these, 46% did so intentionally – not accidentally.

On average, 44% of users consider themselves “somewhat experienced” with email security. In Germany, 33% of users see themselves as “expert” or “very experienced,” followed by around 20% in Spain, the UK and the USA, 16% in Canada and just 8% in France.

Consumers are most likely to hold their Internet or email service provider (ISP) most responsible for stopping viruses and malware. Only 48% see themselves as most responsible, though in France this falls to 30% and 37% in Spain.

The survey was conducted online between January 8th and 21st, 2010 among over a thousand email users in the United States and over 500 email users in each of the other five countries. Participants were general consumers responsible for managing the security for their personal email address.