406 Chapter 9 · DIY Malware Analysis Tools & Traps Lies, Damned Lies, and (Spam in 2006) Statistics Spam statistics are notoriously variable according to source. In this instance, traffic on Anti Virus Information Exchange Network (AVIEN) and other lists clearly suggested a spike in spam volumes over the last part of 2006, and spam vendor reports such as those at www.marshal.com/trace/spam_statistics.asp and www.messagelabs.com/ Threat_Watch/Threat_Statistics supported that supposition. However, the media seemed to be more interested in a report by SoftScan that there was actually a 30 percent drop in spam volumes at the beginning of 2007 (www.softscan.co.uk/composite-491.html). Several theories were put forward to account for this, including the disruption of network services by an Asian earthquake and the possible unavailability of a major robot network (botnet). The media chose to focus on the alternative suggestion of the replacement of large quantities of compromised PCs by new machines received as Christmas presents. There's nothing wrong with some healthy speculation; however, it may be misleading to build too many theories on data received from a single source.