Not the usual fare here, but as a digital dependent media we have an obligation to help keep the net clear. From the SF Chronicle Tech Chronicles.

Latest spam e-mails pose as CNN alerts

Google, which tracks spam as part of its program to offer businesses e-mail security, has seen a 600 percent increase in unwanted e-mails since July 20, many disguised as personalized CNN newsletters, marketing manager Sundar Raghavan said Monday.

The company is warning users not to click on these e-mails, which are cleverly written and contain some valid links.

The spammers don’t appear interested in stealing data, Raghavan said. Rather, anyone who clicks on the e-mails downloads code that turns his or her machine into a spam-spewing bot.

Google advises recipients not to click on links or attachments in e-mails from people they don’t know. If you’re curious about a CNN alert, search for the story on CNN’s Web page.

Google figures that 93 percent of all inbound e-mail is now spam and that the average corporate employee has received around 26,000 messages so far this year, up from around 18,000 in all of 2007. On a peak day for this attack, July 24, Google saw 10 million messages pass through its servers, Raghavan said.

– Deborah Gage