The vast majority of emails in people's inboxes are spam, according to the latest security intelligence report from Microsoft.
Nearly all of the emails sent over the internet are unwanted, an influential new study has revealed.
The sixth security intelligence security report from Microsoft found that 97 percent of emails sent during 2008 were spam. Spam refers to adverts sent to users who have not requested them, which often contain malicious files.
Bill Gates, the co-founder of the software giant, suggested in 2004 that spam would become "a thing of the past" in two years, but the problem has only become worse. Much of this is down to advances in technology, according to Microsoft chief cyber security advisor Ed Gibson.
"With higher capacity broadband and better OS (operating systems), and higher power computers it is easier now to send out billions of spams. Three or four years ago the capacity wasn't there," he explained.
According to Symantec, the spam accounted for just 81.2 percent of emails in 2008, a fall from 84.6 percent in 2007. The security firm found that 90 percent of spam messages were sent using botnets. The internet service providers which had been hosting some of the largest botnets were taken down, but most eventually found other means of distribution.
