Week Eleven

Spam

Spam is unsolicited email that comes into your Inbox from a source that is not a friend, family member, or colleague, and that you did not ask for, flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message. Spam can be from a legitimate business trying to sell products or scammers who are trying to make a profit. Hoaxes, pornography, and get-rich-quick schemes all are classified as spam. They waste time and can easily offend users.

There are many different ways to deal with spam. The first is to avoid posting your email address on the Internet. One study found that over 97% of spam messages were sent to users that had posted their email address online. Filters and filtering software can also help block spam at the mail server. Google Mail, for example, has blocking schemes that can drop the number of spam messages received by users by 90%.

A lot of spam messages will contain malware or point to dangerous websites. It is important that if you receive a spam message that you never click any links or open a message from someone that you do not recognize. Spam can also be in the form of phishing, sending an email that looks legitimate, hoping that you will enter personal information. If you receive an email asking for personal information, it is important to verify the sender before proceeding.

The best things you can do to combat spam include: never responding to it, filtering it out of your e-mail, and complaining to providers about it.

Source:
Hazen Mueller, S. (n.d.). How can I help make a difference? Retrieved May 23, 2016, from http://spam.abuse.net/bits/makeadifference.shtml

Meyers, M. (2012). All-in-one CompTIA A certification exam guide: (exams 220-801 & 220-802). New York: McGraw-Hill.