Microsoft Set to Shut Down Global Spam Network

A US judge granted the firm's request to shut down 277 internet domains, which it said were used to "command and control" the so-called Waledac botnet. Photo by wordpress.com

Microsoft has won court approval to shut down a global network of computers which it says is responsible for more than 1,5 billion spam messages every day.

A US judge granted the firm's request to shut down 277 internet domains, which it said were used to "command and control" the so-called Waledac botnet.

A botnet is a network of infected computers under the control of hackers.

The firm said that closing the domains would mean that up to 90 000 PCs would stop receiving orders to send out spam, the BBC reported.

A recent analysis by the firm found that between 3-21 December "approximately 651 million spam e-mails attributable to Waledac were directed to Hotmail accounts alone".

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