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Thanks to Olivier Kerebel, I’ll never think of the French as pinky-pointed tea-sipping, croissant-nibbling wimps again. Instead, I’ll think of Olivier’s epic thigh-busting bike ride across Canada that he’s recently launch from Toronto’s Dundas Square. I’ll also think of his savvy use of social media to apple iphone 3gs 16gb black unlocked gsm cellular phone bring his friends along for the journey.

I met Olivier when he was crashing on a friend’s couch (set up via couchsurfing.org). The Parisian is in Canada for a year on a temporary visa, and hopes to eventually end his bike ride in Vancouver. His last blog update -/- places him in Sudbury, Ont. and he’s posted the mandatory photos of the Big Nickel.

Follow Olivier's bike journey across the country with social media.

Olivier is using an array of Web 2.0 tools to document his trip and share it with peers. He has a knack for shooting video while riding that isn’t too shaky, and even narrating a monologue while pedaling – which he somehow manages to upload to YouTube. There’s lots of pictures on his WordPress blog, and Olivier is also updating a and .

But my favourite social media feature of this biking journey is Olivier’s use of Polldaddy.com. A simple radio-button poll sits on the right side of his blog, and after June 6 Olivier’s followers will click away to decide which route he will take across the country. It reminds me of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” book series I was fond of in elementary school. The ability to help determine Olivier’s fate and how he experiences Canada during his trek adds real appeal to reading the blog.

Currently, the poll asks followers how cruel or how nice they plan to be to Olivier in their voting. Right now, it looks like Olivier’s in for a tough ride as 88 apple iphone 3gs 16gb black unlocked gsm cellular phone per cent of respondents indicate they’ll favour more difficult paths (including me – I’m hoping for a Grizzly encounter).

Olivier is also raising money for through his blog, and anyone can make a donation online with a credit card. His goal is a humble $1500, but I’m guessing he’ll meet enough people along the way and gain enough interest with this blog that he’ll surpass that mark before he hits the Prairies.

rosalind.o’connell(at)edelman.com

The Government of Canada recently re-introduced anti-spam legislation, titled the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act (FISA), in the House of Commons. The goal of the proposed legislation is to deter damaging and deceptive forms of spam and help drive spammers out of the country.

FISA is an important step in the ongoing fight against spam. The May 2010 MessageLabs Intelligence Report indicated that, in Canada, 89.4 per cent of email was spam. The global ratio of spam was 90 per cent.

Analysis revealed that nine out of 10 spam emails now contain a URL link in the message. In May, five percent of all domains found in spam URLs belonged to genuine web sites. Of the most frequently used domain names contained in spam URLS, the top four belong to well-known web sites used for social networking, blogging, file sharing and host other forms of user-generated content.

Domains belonging to well-known web sites tend to be recycled and used continuously compared with â€œdisposableâ€ domains which are used for a short period of time and never seen again. This is perhaps because some work is involved in acquiring them: the legitimate domains require CAPTCHAs to be solved to create the large numbers of accounts that are then used by spammers.

While Rustock is the botnet that uses the greatest number of disposable domains, Storm, which has recently returned to the spamming scene, is the only botnet that uses genuine domains in greater number than disposable domains.

Sixty-five per cent of spam from the Storm botnet uses a legitimate domain, many of which are for URL shortening services. Disposable domains are often used quickly after being first registered, and on average, 50 per cent are used within nine days, before spammers switch to newer domains.

Also, MessageLabs Intelligence intercepted a malware attack featuring the theme of The FIFA World Cup competition that starts in June. Composed in Portuguese and featuring the branding of one of the event sponsors, the email was sent from an IP address in Macau, China.

Once downloaded and activated, the malware produces files that generate pop-up messages and in the background collects information on what other machines are on the same network, enabling the attacker further access to the compromised computer.

The May level of email-borne viruses in Canada was one in 230.9, while the global ratio was one in 211.6. Malware may penetrate an organization in many ways, including drive-by attacks from compromised websites, Trojan horses and worms that spread by copying themselves to removable drives.

The most frequently blocked malware for the last month was the Sality.AE virus, which spreads by infecting executable files and attempts to download potentially malicious files from the Internet.

With spammers and cyber criminals remaining as active as ever, legislation such as FISA can help flush out malicious and illegitimate activities and make sure that Canadian organizations follow better business practices.

Matt Sergeant, is a Senior Anti-Spam Technologist for Â

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Biker embarks on social media-driven trek across Canada

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Canada introduces anti-spam law as spam URLs become pervasive

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