The Spamhaus List of Spammiest Networks

It's great for Google (and the rest of us, probably) that it got itself removed from The Spamhaus Project's list of top 10 worst spam networks, where the search service had reached as high as No. 3. But what networks remain on the list, and what other spam lists does the international non-profit spam-fighting organization have? I thought I'd never ask.

The top spam network, with 41 known spam issues, is sistemnet.com.tr, based in Turkey. Runner-up is HostFresh, Inc., out of San Francisco, with 34 known spam problems. Getting the bronze in place of Google, which had been "credited" with 31 spam problems on its network, is VSNL International, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, an Indian holding company. You can see the rest of the wannabes on the list here.

But there's more. Spamhaus has a top 10 list of spammiest countries, and who's No. 1? The U.S., that's who, with 1,500 current known spam issues. Way back in second place is China, with 453, while the Russian Federation grabs the third slot with 291. If only the summer Olympics played out this way.

Finally, Spamhaus names the individuals and organizations topping its list of 200 known professional spam gangs worldwide. And while these top 10 are dominated by Eastern European outfits (six), No. 1 is Canadian Pharmacy, which, oddly, is based somewhere in the United States. Or Eastern Europe. Spamhaus seems to have conflicting information about CP's location. Second is Leo Kuvayek, who is the only one to have his picture on the Spamhaus site (and he looks like such a nice boy!). Third place, out of India, is HerbalKing.

So there they are; the spam world's finest. Learn them, loathe them. They're scum.