Three IT findings that surprised me last week...

While I don’t surprise easily, there are a few items that give me pause for thought, for lack of a better phrase. Some may even say these are tweet-worthy.

In August 2009 alone, 93% of the emails sent to computer users in Hong Kong were spam. I usually get 75% on any given day but I’m just one person; this effects practically everyone in Hong Kong.

On certain days when your patience is wearing thin, the spam situation drastically impairs your work day so I’m sympathetic to the plight of those business users. However, the silver lining is there: anti spam vendors can make a killing if they pay special attention to this market.

This warning came from a Symantec press release: Every three and a half minutes a crime is committed on the streets of New York City. Every two and half minutes a crime is committed on the streets of Tokyo. But every three seconds, an identity is stolen online — that’s nearly 10,512,000 identities each year.

The magnitude of this cyber crime is staggering so Symantec is launching a crusade against these criminal acts. With an arsenal of educational tools, information and worldwide partnerships, Symantec is determined to empower everyone online.

"At the heart of this issue are the cyber criminals making a fortune online and the victims they leave behind. You don’t have to be a victim," said Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Products and Marketing, Symantec. "We’re launching this aggressive initiative because we know that education can do a lot to help people understand just what “common sense” steps they should take to protect themselves online."

While the global market for servers has been declining over the past four quarters, it was certainly unexpected that the sales fell off 30 percent to their lowest level in 13 years, as reported by IDC. The bleak overall sales numbers were: $9.8bn (£6bn) in the second quarter of 2009, compared with $14bn (£8.6bn) in the same period last year.

While IDC has acknowledged that the "worldwide server installed base is aging rapidly" there are certainly companies that are being proactive to curb the problem.

SingleHop's "Cash for Server Clunkers" program introduced last week offers up to $300 to businesses who trade in their older servers for more energy-efficient SingleHop servers.

SingleHop's VP of Communication, Dan Salcedo notes: "SingleHop has always been focused on providing fast, efficient and power-saving servers, even spearheading the introduction of Intel’s ultra-efficient ATOM processors for use in dedicated servers - the outcome included higher performance and 70% energy savings vs. other processors of similar speed. In the end, SingleHop’s Cash for Server Clunkers program cements our environmental focus and, we are confident, will encourage more economic activity than would have otherwise occurred without this privately funded incentive."