Despite sophistication in ISP e-mail delivery policies and developments by malware services firms, this past year saw spam hit an all time high.

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Adteractive Inc., an online advertising company, for its alleged use of "deceptive" spam e-mails and online advertising to draw people to its Web sites.

AOL is the toughest nut to crack for e-mail deliverability for marketers, while Google's Gmail is the easiest, according to a recent survey by online community for e-mail marketers Dot Email.

Welcome e-mails are on the rise, as 72 percent of major online retailers regularly send out welcome e-mails this year, up from 66 percent last year, according to a new study by the Email Experience Council, the Direct Marketing Association's group that focuses on the e-mail marketing industry.