If you've noticed a drop in the amount of spam you've been getting, thank Washington Post security blogger Brian Krebs. Krebs did an expose on McColo, a San Jose, Calif. ISP that some called a "landfill ISP." Those are ISPs that attract an inordinate amount of shady or criminal activity.

After his stories ran, McColo was kicked offline up its upstream provider. Our Managing Editor Chris Saunders did his own write-up on the issue. Since then, Krebs has tracked back much of McColo's traffic, showing that major botnets like Srizbi and Rustock were operating through McColo.

The effect on the Internet has been tremendous, with spam volumes dropping anywhere from 40 percent to 70 percent, depending on which spam watcher you check, and according to IronPort, which sells spam filtering hardware, the levels have stayed down for more than a week, which means the crooks haven't been able to find a new outlet yet.

Krebs is definitely one of the good guys. His reporting last year on the Russian Business Network put that vile ISP out of business, too. RBN didn't appear to have a single legitimate business as a customer, it was entirely malware, spam and child porn. RBN's upstream provider pulled the plug, putting it out of business as well, scattering the rats who used the service all over the place.

Nice work, Brian. Now make sure to check under your car before you get in it, ok?

More bragging rights for Apple, it would seem.

The Pac-Man sticker is a nice touch.

Thanks to FARK and 9 to 5 Mac for the lead.

Merry Christmas, Circuit City employees. A lot of you are getting a gift of pink paper. I've always thought it was awful that layoffs come at this time of year, but one friend noted it's better now then after running up huge bills during Christmas and then being jobless when they come due. Six of one, half dozen of another, I say.

The company will close 155 underperforming stores (listed here), cancelled plans to open 10 more, and will exit 12 markets (Phoenix, AZ seems to be the largest, although Texas and Ohio are also getting creamed). Judging by the list, it's clearly smaller cities that are taking the hit. The one near me that's closing is about 200 yards from a Best Buy, a few miles from Fry's Electronics and in a low-income neighborhood, so I am not surprised at its demise. Time to go bargain hunting (I need a digital camera).

The company cited the usual excuses: declining consumer confidence, weakened retail environment, vendors facing tightened credit terms from their lenders, blah blah blah. The real question is which act really sealed Circuit's doom.