 Spam:
Where it Came From, and How to Escape It[By:
Beka Ruse]
In 1936, long before the rise of the personal computer, Hormel
Foods created SPAM. In 2002, the company will produce it's six
billionth can of the processed food product. But that mark was
passed long ago in the world of Internet spam.
Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
The modern meaning of the word "spam"
has nothing to do with spiced ham. In the early 1990's, a skit by
British comedy group Monty Python led to the word's common usage.
"The SPAM Skit" follows a couple struggling to order dinner from a
menu consisting entirely of Hormel's canned ham.
Repetition is key to the skit's hilarity. The actors cram the word
"SPAM" into the 2.5 minute skit more than 104 times! This flood
prompted Usenet readers to call unwanted newsgroup postings
"spam." The name stuck.
Spammers soon focused on e-mail, and the terminology moved with
them. Today, the word has come out of technical obscurity. Now,
"spam" is the common term for "Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail", or
"UCE."
Why Does Bad Spam
Happen to Good People?
Chances are, you've been spammed before.
Somehow, your e-mail address has found it's way into the hands of
a spammer, and your inbox is suffering the consequences. How does
this happen? There are several possibilities.
Backstabbing Businesses
Businesses often keep lists of their customers' e-mail addresses.
This is a completely legitimate practice and, usually, nothing bad
comes of it. Sometimes though, the temptation to make a quick buck
is too great, and these lists are sold or rented to outside
advertisers. The result? A lot of unsolicited e-mail, and a
serious breach of trust.
Random Address Generation
Computer programs called random address generators simply "guess"
e-mail addresses. Over 100 million hotmail addresses exist -
howhard could it be to guess some of them? Unfortunately for many
unsuspecting netizens - not too hard. Many spammers also guess at
"standard" addresses, like "support@yourdomain.com",
"info@yourdomain.com", and "billing@yourdomain.com."
Web Spiders
Today's most insidious list-gathering tools are web spiders. All
of the major search engines spider the web, saving information
about each page. Spammers use tools that also spider the web, but
save any e-mail address they come across. Your personal web
page lists your e-mail address? Prepare for an onslaught!
Chat Room Harvesting
ISP's offer vastly popular chat rooms where users are known only
by their screen names. Of course, spammers know that your screen
name is the first part of your e-mail address. Why waste time
guessing e-mail addresses when a few hours of lurking in a chat
room can net a list of actively-used addresses?
The Poor Man's Bad Marketing Idea
It didn't work for the phone companies, and it won't work for
e-mail marketers. But, some spammers still keep their own
friends-and-family-style e-mail lists. Compiled from the addresses
of other known spammers, and people or businesses that the owner
has come across in the past, these lists are still illegitimate.
Why? Only you can give someone permission to send you e-mail. A
friend-of-a-friend's permission won't cut it.
Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
Already drowning in spam? Try using your
e-mail client's filters - many provide a way to block specific
e-mail addresses. Each time you're spammed, block the sender's
address. Spammers skip from address to address, and you may be on
many lists, but this method will at least slow the flow.
Also, use more than one e-mail address, and keep one "clean." Many
netizens find that this technique turns the spam flood into a
trickle. Use one address for only spam-safe activities like
e-mailing your friends, or signing on with trustworthy businesses.
Never use your clean address on the web! Get a free address to use
on the web and in chat rooms.
If nothing else helps, consider changing screen names, or opening
an entirely new e-mail account. When you do, you'll start with a
clean, spam-free slate. This time, protect your e-mail address!
Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
Want to surf the web without getting
sucked into the spam-flood? Prevention is your best policy. Don't
use an easy-to-guess e-mail address. Keep your address clean by
not using it for spam-centric activities. Don't post it on any web
pages, and don't use it in chat rooms or newsgroups.
Before giving your clean e-mail address to a business, check the
company out. Are sections of its user agreement dedicated to
anti-spam rules? Does a privacy policy explain exactly what will
be done with your address? The most considerate companies also
post an anti-spam policy written in plain English, so you can be
absolutely sure of what you're getting into.
Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
Many a first-time marketer has
inadvertently spammed his audience. The first several hundred
complaints and some nasty phone messages usually stop him in his
tracks. But by then, the spammer may be faced with cleanup bills
from his ISP, and a bad reputation that it's not easy to overcome.
The best way to avoid this situation is to have a clear
understanding of what spam is: If anyone who receives your mass
e-mails did not specifically ask to hear from you, then you are
spamming them.
Stick with your gut. Don't buy a million addresses for $10, no
matter how much the seller swears by them! If something sounds
fishy, just say no. You'll save yourself a lot in the end.
The Final Blow
The online world is turning the tide on
spam. In the end, people will stop sending spam because it stops
working. Do your part: never buy from a spammer. When your
business seeks out technology companies with which to work, only
choose those with a staunch anti-spam stance.
Spam has a long history in both the food and e-mail sectors. This
year, Hormel Foods opened a real-world museum dedicated to SPAM.
While the museum does feature the Monty Python SPAM Skit, there's
no word yet on an unsolicited commercial e-mail exhibit. But, if
all upstanding netizens work together, Hormel's ham in a can will
far outlive the Internet plague that is UCE.
Beka Ruse fights spam as the Business
Development Manager at AWeber Communications. Ad tracking, live
stats, and a strict anti-spam policy: Automated E-Mail Follow Up
From
AWeber.
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