Introduction to Spam
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Many instances exist where any unwelcome email is perceived as spam, when in reality it is not spam. This section is a good starting point to learn about the basics of spam, their origins and characteristics, and when it is and isn’t spam. We’ll seek to answer common questions on many users’ minds, including why do spammers send spam, the profile of a typical spammer and the types of spam they send.
Contents of this Chapter
Definition of Spam. What Is And What Is Not Spam?
Before we can begin to tackle the problem of spam, it is important to define what is spam and what is not. Very often the public perceives any unwelcome email as spam, although it is actually not spam...
What Does Spam Stand For?
There has been a lot of debate as to the origins of the modern terminology for junk e-mail that we all know as spam! But where did the word spam really come from?
What Does Spam Stand For? (an Alternative View)
An alternative definition on the explanation for the origins of spam...
The 4Ws of Spam
There are four main issues to the problems posed by spam. The Who, What, Where and Why of Spam...
Are You Really Anti Spam?
Are you part of the solution or the problem? Spam cannot exist if you do not respond to it. This section discusses whether your actions are helping to combat spam, or helping it to flourish...
How Do Spammers Get Your Email Address?
As anti-spam measures improve each day, so also do the spammers methods for sending spam. This section discusses several ways how spammers obtain email addresses...
Your ISP And Pink Contracts
Pink contracts are covert agreements signed between spammers and ISPs so that they turn a blind eye to the junk emails passing through their servers...
Profile Of A Spammer
Certain characteristics or traits are telltale sign which places a person into a high risk group of spamming. Interestingly enough, the profile of a spammer is not much different from a virus creator...
The Future Of Spam
In 2002, the volume of spam was reported at 7 billion, but by 2004, this number had jumped by over 300 percent to 23 billion. Internet service providers and antispam solution vendors report that spam currently represents 50-95 percent of all inbound emails, whereas it was only at 15-20 percent in 2002...