About Spam

EmpowerYou

Helping entrepreneurs, small businesses, professionals, and not-for-profits make the most of business technology!

December 20, 2006 - Issue # 15

In This Issue
	About Spam Spam Statistics Tools to manage spam The Spamhaus Project

Sign Up

Interesting Links
	About Spam (the food) About the Monty Python Sketch Watch the Monty Python Sketch About Email Spam

Dear Ron,

Spam in increasing dramatically and can waste a lot of your time if you don't use tools to control it. If you use webmail your webmail provider, Sympatico, Rogers, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc, are probably protecting you from most spam. It's in their interest to reduce unwanted email to control their bandwidth and storage costs. However, if you have your own domain email accounts, myemail@mydomain.com, you must install your own spam filters.

About Spam

The name was originated by Hormel Foods for its canned meat product introduced in 1937. However when used to refer to unwanted email it is derived from the popular Monty Python sketch, first broadcast in 1970. In the sketch, two customers are trying to order a breakfast from a menu that includes the processed meat product in almost every dish. Watch the sketch here (3.5 minutes)

Spam Statistics

According to Postini, spam increased 59% from September to October, 2006, and 83% of all emails are spam. There are two main reasons for this: spammers can reach millions of prospective purchasers at almost no cost; secondly, as it has been forever, there is no shortage of people who wish to be thinner, richer, more physically attractive, etc.

Tools to manage spam

Spam can be controlled at the server level and on the local computer. Products such as Spam Assassin, an open source project, can be installed on the mail server. SpamAssassin uses a wide variety of local and network tests to identify spam signatures. This makes it harder for spammers to identify one aspect around which they can craft their messages. On the local computer products such as Mailwasher, and Ella are available without charge if you don't mind an advertisement at the bottom of your emails. When you pay around US$30, a one time fee, the ads are removed.

The Spamhaus Project

The Spamhaus Project is a completely volunteer effort founded by Steve Linford in 1998 that aims to track e-mail spammers and spam-related activity. It is named for the anti-spam jargon term coined by Linford, spamhaus, a pseudo-German expression for an ISP or other firm which spams or willingly provides service to spammers. The Spamhaus Registry of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO) is a database of "hard-core spam gangs" -- spammers and spam operations who have been terminated from three or more ISPs due to spamming. The ROKSO list is not a Domain Name Server Black List (DNSBL); it is, rather, a directory of publicly-sourced information about these persons and their business and at times criminal activities.

If you need help controlling spam please contact us.

Best wishes to everyone for a healthy and happy 2007!

Sincerely,

Ron Foreman

EmpowerYou

phone: 647-999-8543