Spam Spam Lovely Spam

SPAM means one thing to most netters and that is unwanted e-mail but what is it really. Where does it come from and how do spammers get email addresses?

To fight SPAM effectively understanding spam basics and it's language.

Spam: People commonly refer to unsolicited commercial e-mail as spam. According to those who know, the term originates with a Monty Python skit where the comedy team sings a song: "Spam, spam, lovely spam, lovely spam." even thought the song was in reference to the canned variety. (you can read Spam's manufacturer's comments at http://www.spam.com/ci/ci_in.htm).

The solution to the onslaught is in a variety of free and not so free downloads that can help limit your daily spam intake. These Anti Spam utilities come is several flavors and each attack spam is different ways, some over zealous.

False Positive: This occurs when a spam filter mistakes wanted e-mail for spam and blocks it from you.

The solution to a false positive remains spam filters, although they aren't perfect. For that reason, it's good to keep tabs on what is being blocked. Check any "spam" folder that corrals all your junk e-mail. You can also update your e-mail filters not to block the messages you want to receive.

Bayesian Filter: This is a popular type of e-mail filter based on a mathematical theorem named for 18th-century British minister and mathematician Thomas Bayes. It determines the likelihood that an e-mail message is spam by assigning values to the words in the message and calculating the probability that it is spam. The word Viagra scores high, and so does home (as in work from home). If an e-mail message racks up enough Bayesian points, the filter blocks it.

A free Bayesian spam filter which has been touted as better than many commercial products is SAproxy, available at http://www.spychecker.com/program/saproxy.html.

Several browser-based e-mail clients also use Bayesian filters, including Netscape and Mozilla. A chief advantage of Bayesian filters is that they are easily trained to watch for users' preferences. The downside is they can be hard to configure.

Honey Pot: Like a decoy duck these are decoy e-mail accounts designed to attract spam. Spam filter writers use them to more easily spot the latest junk e-mail trends and devise ways to outsmart spammers. This method is favoured by ISP's

Spam filtering firm Brightmail (http://www.brightmail.com/) says it has 2 million decoy accounts that get 25 million junk e-mail messages each day. By getting pummelled by spam, Brightmail can better protect ISPs that use its service, the company says.

Dictionary Attack: When spammers need fresh victims, they turn to software that automatically generates likely e-mail addresses. The program combines letters and numbers in an attempt to find active e-mail addresses. This is similar to the way hackers find passwords. The trick is to have an email address tat does not contain a normal word or name.

Be creative, choose an unlikely combination of number and letters. Also, the longer your user name, the harder it is for software to guess.

Harvesting: Another way spammers gather e-mail addresses is by harvesting them--running a software program that trolls chat rooms, Internet postings, Usenet discussion groups, and other online sources for e-mail addresses. The favourite spots are IRC, Yahoo and MSN chat, in fact any free chat room.

To avoid being a victim of harvesters, use a disposable e-mail address for public consumption. When you post, don't use your primary e-mail address--use one you don't care about. Yahoo has launched a premium spam-fighting service, Yahoo Mail Plus, with a feature called AddressGuard that lets you create up to 500 separate e-mail accounts. If one address starts getting too much spam, just delete the account and move to another one. There are also several free temporary Email address services around.

You can also trick harvesters by embedding a message into your e-mail address. For example, if your e-mail address is johndoe99@isp.com, you might want to post your e-mail address as johndoe99(at)isp.com, or johndoe99@nospam.isp.com. Remember that the spammers aren't actually looking at your address just searching for anything with a @ in it.

Click-Through Rates: This is the one aimed at those who actually open a spam message and click on the contained link. It can also apply to the number of times a spam recipient clicks on links at destination Web sites. Spammers are often paid based on how many Web pages they can trick you into viewing.

The simple rule to avoid this is Don't open Spam deleting it, and don't click on links inside spam messages.

Phishing: There is even thieves among thieves and the worst are called "phishers," because they are fishing for victims, they try to con people out of personal information like credit card numbers and bank security codes. They defraud most victims by setting up Web sites designed to look like those run by legitimate companies. The PH substitute for F came from the old telephone hackers slang term "Phreaking". Hackers could swap scam tips initially without attracting attention.

To avoid being phish bait, always be suspicious of e-mail asking for personal information. When in doubt, directly contact the company that is allegedly asking, try to confirm the correspondence, and find out whether the e-mail or Web site link is legit. Report phishing scammers to your ISP and the Local of Federal authorities.

Trojan Horse: This , Much like the Greeks' creation centuries ago of the original Trojan Horse these malicious software programs are made to look innocent.

A recent Trojan horse e-mail messages pretending to be Microsoft software patches has caught many off guard. If you were unfortunate enough to double-click the bogus patch file attachment, you were likely bitten by the W32.Swen.A@mm worm. Among other nasty tricks, the worm disables your antivirus software and e-mails itself to anyone in your address book.

To avoid Trojan horses, always scan attachments with your antivirus software before launching a program or double-clicking an attachment from within an e-mail message. Also, keep your antivirus software up-to-date with the latest definitions.

Opt In: Online sweepstakes, newsletters, and Web site registration forms often ask for more than your e-mail address in exchange for their giveaways. Often the fine print specifies that you are agreeing to receive e-mail offers from marketing partners. Clicking to accept these terms is called opt-in marketing. You may quickly find out that the service you signed up with has many "marketing partners."

To avoid signing up for spam, register for sites and enter contests using disposable e-mail addresses. Be leery of check boxes. If you start getting spam from a company you trust, you can choose to opt out of receiving more.

However, beware of spam that offers an "opt-out" option. Disreputable junk e-mailers offer this option only as a way to confirm your e-mail address is valid.

Spam affects everyone on the net. If everyone used some common sense and anti spam software the spammers would soon realise that their method of making money no longer works and cease.

One other way to stop SPAM dead in it's tracks is lobby your Government to outlaw credit card companies from providing credit facilities to spammers or any company associated with a spammer.

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