If you watch TV or the internet ads, you may recall some wonderful ads by Facebook which feature children – what they did and what they could do if they were connected to the internet. The flip side of the internet is spam, and Brian Krebs wrote Spam Nation published by Sourcebooks, Naperville, Illinois, 2014. In the book Mr. Krebs writes about the leaders of the Spam groups – in this case they are Russian. The Internet of the Facebook ads is about learning, doing better, creating good things. The reality of the early internet was there needed to be a reason why people paid for subscriptions and there is a very healthy market for porn of all types, getting the best bargain and of course information. Porn is illegal, but it pays the bills. Countries like Russia which had limited resources to fight illegal severs, opportunities arose to make money. Then came the spams which also were designed and do make money – send out billions of spam, some will respond to it. Those that respond can be spammed on another idea; it in a global world where people look for the lowest cost, regulations can have alternatives. One of the big areas is cheap drugs or pharma – people pay less, they think the drugs are similar but one never knows. The size of the spams are the key – the good ones can send billions of messages per day. The owners of the severs benefit – usage is up and fees are good.

In the book, Mr. Krebs offers methods to try to keep your computer safe, which is always worth reading. You can find more information on KrebsOnSecurity.com

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the use of the internet is a powerful tool for the investor, the ability to search, read 10k reports and other sources makes investors decision an easier one. As one is researching there is wonderful information and lousy information, with time and ability you will be able to distinguish between the two. As investors we hope the wonderful ads of facebook and what can be done are the right way, but as investors bills must be paid.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions