A chart from MessageLabs illustrating a big decline in the volume of spam emails (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — According to reports posted last week on the MessageLabs Intelligence blog, operated by the Symantec ( www.symantec.com ) unit, the organization’s scanning has seen a rise in malicious attachments accompanying spam email The post on the MessageLabs blog says that while spam email traffic in general fell dramatically, as expected, following the shutdown of the massive Rustock botnet in March, the company’s spam traps saw a big increase in the volume of spam data hitting its spam traps , in spite of the declining number of emails. The reason turned out to be an increase in the number of emails with .zip file attachments being sent out by the Cutwail botnet, meaning a big increase in the average size of each email, in terms of data. That volume of spam data has been fairly well sustained since March 26, which suggests a bit of a shift in spamming tactics.

A screen shot of ForSkills’ front page (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) –- UK Web hosting provider DediPower ( www.dedipower.com ) announced on Tuesday it is providing hosting services for the e-learning services provider ForSkills ( www.forskills.co.uk ), which delivers web-based learning resources to schools, colleges and private companies wishing to implement and manage online learning.

A screen shot of ForSkills’ front page (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) –- UK Web hosting provider DediPower ( www.dedipower.com ) announced on Tuesday it is providing hosting services for the e-learning services provider ForSkills ( www.forskills.co.uk ), which delivers web-based learning resources to schools, colleges and private companies wishing to implement and manage online learning. The move comes a couple months after DediPower announced it is providing hosting for The BRIT Awards 2011 with MasterCard . ForSkills designs and supplies assessment, monitoring and management software and tools.

EtherCloud simplifies the delivery of Ethernet and VPLS services over a global footprint (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) –- IP and Ethernet wholesale carrier Tinet ( www.tinet.net ) announced on Monday it has launched its global wholesale offering, EtherCloud ( www.ethercloud.tinet.net ), a new service that transforms and simplifies the delivery of Ethernet and VPLS services over a global footprint.   The Layer 2 platform connects diverse partner networks into a single Ethernet cloud that delivers end-to-end Ethernet and VPLS connectivity around the world.  Tinet says the platform is the result of integrating individual product and systems from Tinet and its parent company, Neutral Tandem.  EtherCloud offers customers flexible interconnectivity options so they can choose where and how they want to interconnect at any of Tinet’s 120 global points of presence. “We designed the service to deliver a compelling value proposition, to simplify and streamline customers’ off-net interconnections, to extend their network reach and to market their local Ethernet services to customers worldwide,” says Paolo Gambini, chief marketing officer of Tinet. “The offering is further strengthened by end-to-end SLAs to meet the demands of enterprise customers.”   Tinet says that EtherCloud is designed to meet a range of customers including local/regional carriers, ISPs, value added resellers and systems integrators.   Through a single E-NNI, EtherCloud members can buy Ethernet and VPLS connectivity, as well as sell their own services to other EtherCloud members globally.

A map illustrates Hurricane Electric’s PoP (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – Internet backbone and colocation provider Hurricane Electric ( www.he.net ) announced on Friday that it has established a point-of-presence with Telehouse Paris 2 Voltaire . This announcement comes a week after Hurricane Electric established a point-of-presence within the VegasNAP data center

A screen shot of BitGravity’s HD video conferencing application (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Tata Communications ( www.tatacommunications.com ) announced on Tuesday it will acquire content delivery network provider BitGravity ( www.bitgravity.com ). Once the acquisition is completed, BitGravity will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Communications.

A screen shot of BitGravity’s HD video conferencing application (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Tata Communications ( www.tatacommunications.com ) announced on Tuesday it will acquire content delivery network provider BitGravity ( www.bitgravity.com ). Once the acquisition is completed, BitGravity will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Communications.