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.
http://www.aweber.com/lsp.htm
References:
Hormel Foods, Virtual Press Kit,
www.hormelfoods.com
Microsoft Corporation, MSN Hotmail Fun Facts,
www.microsoft.com
