For those who regularly use instant-messaging services like Yahoo Instant Messenger and Microsoft's MSN Messenger, you know that IM spam arrived long ago and shows no signs of leaving. Tuesday, however, I received my first Skype spam. Lucky me.
Unfortunately, I'm not alone. Skype spam is on the rise. It was just a matter of time, and I can't really complain, given all the value that I and my company derive from Skype.
However, the problem that I have with this spam business is that these dirty spammers keep confusing me with a mindless Windows sheep! (See right.)
Now, I can accept many things, but being confused with a Windows user? Unconscionable. :-)
More seriously, when are we going to start seeing spam filtering software and such, much like we have in spades for e-mail? Is there not enough corporate dollars in instant messaging to justify worrying about spam? Today, probably not, but that will likely change. Oracle, IBM, and others seem to think there's lots of money in collaboration tools.
This activity is all in corporate communication tools, but perhaps this will eventually lead to more protection of this sort of communication on the public chat networks, as well.