The company that truly cures the virus, spyware, phishing and spam plague that runs rampant on the web could become the next Google. I know this hyperbole is used all the time to describe companies and I don’t want to join in the chorus, but if we look at the most serious current problems on the net that need solving then some sort of incredibly effective anti-malware solution is needed for regular people. And I’m not talking about the security suites from Symantec and other competitors. They start the process, but are about as effective for Johnny Lunchbucket at stopping the slime as an umbrella in the face of a meteor shower.

The State of the Net survey by Consumer Reports projects that American consumers lost more than $8 billion over the last two years to viruses, spyware and various schemes.

Another study I read before vacation showed 96% of email is spam. 96% of mail resources wasted on spammers and scammers. Bill Gates dream of wiping out spam in the next two years could not have been any less prophetic.

I think something with some very sophistocated artificial intelligence is going to need to be deployed to help out people who aren’t yet wise to the scum peddlars on the web. We just got back from Nevada and maybe there is something down there lurking in the warehouses of Area 51. Get a programmer open house running at Area 51. Let’s get E.T on the case!

Might seem absurd, but perhaps some crazy thinking is needed to move toward a real solution? $8 billion in America alone is too much.

• 80 percent of experts think Gates ridding spam within 2 years is unrealistic
• Gates makes another prediction: bye bye passwords
• Going virtually postal over Bill Gates email box
• Balmer off on Gates spam volume by only 1.4 billion emails
• American Online, EarthLink, Microsoft and Yahoo work together on spam situation — sort of
• Spammers continue to suck