What is Spam?

Most people realize that spam is the receipt of unwanted email, but what many don't know is that spam can come in various other forms as well. It can come through newsgroups, search engines, blogs and guestbooks, cell phones, and even instant messenger services. All types of spam serve a purpose, and all can be extremely disruptive, annoying, and malicious.

The reason spammers use the tactics they use is because it works for them financially. The only costs they incur are the ones associated with maintaining their mailing lists and maintaining an internet connection. Spammers run rampant for the most part, as noted by how many spam emails a person can expect to receive on any given day. I know that personally, a day doesn't go by where I haven't received at least 20 unwanted messages in some form or another. Nobody enjoys spam (except maybe the spammers themselves), and many countries have passed laws and regulations trying to curb it.

When it comes to the spamming of discussion forums, a spammer will join (or post as a guest, if the forum supports it) and bump really old threads or otherwise post in an off-topic manner in order to either disrupt the flow of conversation taking place there, or to advertise something. Many will utilize the forums signature feature to put a link to whatever they're selling, which is then attached to every post they make.

Obviously, spam and SPAM are two different things. The lowercase spam refers to the junk email and junk messages that have been plaguing the internet pretty much since the beginning. SPAM in uppercase refers to the Hormel food product, which by the way, is the state food of Hawaii. Hormel has made it clear that they do not have an issue with their trademarked SPAM being used to describe the epidemic of unsolicited messages, but they have stated that they would prefer that people refer to it using lowercase letters, so as to not infringe on their trademark. There have, however, been situations where Hormel has asked companies to not use the word spam, as in the case of SpamArrest and spambuster.

Spam Videos

Free Spam Blockers Headlines

Best Practices for Protecting against Viruses, Spyware, and Hacking (Dr. Dobb's Journal)

As the value of information goes up, it is attracting more sophisticated kinds of thievery

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How to avoid online dangers (The State)

•  First, be sure your computer is loaded with the most up-to-date firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software and spam blockers. When your computer system sends a message asking you to download the latest free security update, don’t ignore it. You can also pick up free software, such as Ad Aware, which protects against spyware, or McAfee’s Site Advisor, which issues safety ratings on ...

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Personal Finance: Don't let Web scams ruin holiday (The Sacramento Bee)

'Tis the season for making merry. Or in some cases making mischief, especially on the Web. Whether you're shopping online or just checking your personal e-mail, don't get financially fooled this holiday season. "In this economy, when we're all trying to get the most bang for our buck, we're letting down our guard," said Parry Aftab, a privacy attorney and the new family Internet safety ...

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Avoid e-schemes (Sun-Sentinel)

Don't let cybercriminals ruin your holiday fun Holiday shopping has begun, and everyone is out looking for a steal. And that includes criminals. Internet users are getting the usual barrage of offers that are too good to be true. Some are deals, but others are duds in the form of cyber criminals.

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New Free Anti Spam Blocker Tool: Webmasters and Bloggers Fight Back

Manchester, NH (PRWEB) December 9, 2008 -- http://www.SpamDisapppears.com has launched with a free anti spam blocker tool to help any webmaster protect their web sites from being violated by email...

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