Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

We see it everyday.  It’s everywhere - in our mailboxes, our blogs, even on our phones.  I’m talking of course about unsolicited bulk email, better known as spam.  Spam, named after a classic Monty Python skit about a couple who goes to a restaurant that turns out to serve nothing but Spam and ends with the waiters chanting over and over “Spam spam spam spam,” has been around since the 70s. 

The history of spam

In 1978 an employee at DEC sent out a message inviting inquiries about a new computer model to 383 people, creating the first piece of spam.  The net hasn’t been the same since.  That was followed by the infamous “Make Money Fast” chain letter that was spammed all over USENET in the late 80s and early 90s, and then by the “Green Card” spammers.

When email became popular, spammers left USENET behind.  Some of the products spam hawks include shady Internet pharmacies, sexual aids, mortgages, stocks, credit repair, fake watches and designer goods, porn sites, and more.  While spam started out being annoying but harmless, today it often includes malware or links to malicious sites or tries to lure the recipient into the clutches of a scammer. 

Scam spam: Won’t you please help?

The 419 or Nigerian spam is the most common type of scam spam.  Millions of messages attempting to convince people they’ve received a huge inheritance from a long lost relative or that a member of some obscure country’s Royal Family really does need their help.  The unfortunate people that do fall for it usually end up being asked to pay fee after fee until their bank accounts run dry.

Another popular type of scam spam is dating spam.  It arrives as a message from someone claiming to have seen the recipient’s profile on an unspecified site.  They lavish them with compliments and claim they want to get to know them better.  If they fall for it, a “relationship” begins.  Once they feel they’ve gained the victim’s trust the scam begins.  The victim is told they’d really like to come and visit or move to see them (the scammer is almost always overseas) but need to clear up some financial obligations first, or is given a sob story which can only be resolved with money.  Thinking they’ve found the love of their life the victim sends money.  As soon as the money runs out or the victim becomes suspicious, the scammer disappears.

Shields Up!

So with all this spam around, how do you protect yourself?  Here are some simple tips.

• Keep your email address to yourself!  It is fine to give it to family and friends, but for registering at websites and the like, set up a throw away address at Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail.  This way the spam that is generated by those registrations stays out of your inbox.
• Never click on an “unsubscribe” link in a spam message.  99% of the time it will do nothing but tell the spammer that your address is valid and that you actually read spam, resulting in even more coming your way.
• Don’t ever give your cell phone number out when registering on a site and avoid offers for free ringtones or wallpapers.  They almost always result in spam and nasty charges on your phone bill.  The same goes for any type of text message offer such as a free horoscope or free pictures of hot girls.
• If you have a blog, set it up so that all comments must be approved before they appear on your site and install a good spam filter like Akismet.
• If you send out messages to groups of people at once, always use BCC not CC so the list of emails aren’t on display.
• When posting on message boards and discussion groups, don’t put your email address in your signature.  Spammers harvest addresses this way.  The same goes for Twitter - don’t ever tweet your email address (or any other personal info).
• To avoid Twitter spam, see above and also refrain from automatically following people who follow you.  Take the time to check them out first.

Next time we’ll take a look at what to do if your spam solutions are working too well and blocking messages you actually want to receive!