Computers

Consumers across Europe who have been plagued by junk e-mails and phone messages are being told that new laws are on the way to control them.

A bill designed to give consumers and ISPs greater control over a flood of unwanted e-mail, commonly known as spam, was introduced Wednesday by the same U.S. representatives who sponsored the legislation in the last Congress. [CNN]

A new study finds at least 34 percent of e-mail messages at work contain irrelevant information. [ABCNEWS.com]

Internet subscribers world-wide are unwittingly paying an estimated €10 billion a year in connection costs just to receive "junk" e-mails, according to a study undertaken for the European Commission.

Spam costs Net users a whopping E10 billion ($9.33 billion) a year, according to the European Commission. [The Register]

UUNet customers have been left stranded without access to their email for the last 36 hours after the outfit took a "very big hit" from spammers earlier this week. [The Register]

Two Los Angeles men are to go to jail for their part in a bulk email scam which duped 12,000 people and severely impacted the operations of several large US ISPs. [The Register]

A European committee has blocked plans to outlaw unsolicited commercial email dealing a major blow to anti-spam supporters. [The Register]

Lobbyists for the European Internet industry believe their campaign for a ban on spam is gaining momentum. [The Register]

The European parliament has bungled its latest attempt to outlaw spam. [The Register]

Californians Michael Persaud, 24, of San Diego and Frank Kriticos, 25, of Santee will answer felony criminal charges of spamming and so earn the distinction of being the first people so charged in that state, according to a story in the local Union Tribune newspaper. [The Register]

MSN has signed up with Brightmail to stop its email users getting spammed. The ISP will offer its five million email users in the US the option of Brightmail's Anti-Spam Solution. [The Register]

Alan Brown makes a short response to the news that ORBS is shutting down.

The auction giant's new system that was designed to limit spam is forcing some sellers to weed through even more junk mail to find legitimate messages from bidders. [c|net]

In our wireless world, can solicitors find you anywhere within cell range if you have a data-ready wireless phone turned on? [CNET.com]

Some popular free Web services are playing both sides of the fence when it comes to protecting consumers from pesky marketers, offering to block junk e-mail while they help advertisers push promotions into customers' in-boxes. [CNET.com]

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The British marketing industry has begun the fight back against European Union proposals to ban all unsolicited emails. [Guardian Unlimited]