Spam

Unsolicited commercial email or “spam” is a nearly universal problem that assaults the productivity and patience of most everyone with an Internet connection.

Sources around the Internet almost uniformly agree that the word "spam" came to represent unsolicited, off-topic or otherwise annoying electronic communication based on the Spam sketch by Monty Python's Flying Circus, the 70's British sketch comedy troupe. For an exhaustive exploration of the how Hormel’s tinned pork product came to be synonymous with the flood in our inboxes, visit: http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamterm.html.

What You Can Do To Stop Spam

Though the University's spam filter stops a large amount of spam, it can’t possibly stop it all. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to help stem the tide of spam!

The people who send unsolicited commercial e-mails are highly motivated by the profit potential. The famous Nigerian 419 scam, for example, managed to steal nearly $345,000 from a mere sixteen gullible people.

Spammers find ways around software filters and can nearly always reach you given a valid e-mail address. The key, therefore, is to deny spammers your personal information. Just as you probably wouldn't give out your phone number to just anybody who asked, you should be just as careful with your e-mail address. Once your email address "makes the list" expect spam for all eternity.

Some ways to protect your e-mail address include:

• Set up an email account with Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, or any of the other free email providers on the Internet.
• Any time you need to provide an email address for a contest, to send a card or any other reason where you don't 100% trust a firm's privacy policy (which you should always read), use this free address.
• Check the free account periodically to clean it out (and who knows, maybe you did win that contest!)
• Never use any email address you care about to post a message on a message board or Usenet newsgroup. Programs known as "bots" routinely scan such forums, harvesting email addresses.
• If you receive an email chain letter delete it immediately and certainly don't add your name and forward it on. Whatever fate might befall you for breaking the chain is better than all those addresses (including yours) falling into the hands of spammers.
• As a rule, only use your "good" email addresses for personal and business correspondence. Extend this warily only to dealings with companies that you trust.
• "Opt Out" while you can. When making an online purchase or subscribing to an e-newsletter, most sites have an option like "contact me with further offers or special deals" which is frequently checked by default. Unless you really want this information, uncheck the box. Remember, if you leave the box checked the offers you get from the site are not considered spam as you did technically request the information.
• Most reputable web sites will be very upfront and clear about their privacy policies. A good privacy statement should spell out in plain language that they will never sell your name or personal information to anyone. If the statement is at all vague on this point, take your business elsewhere.
• Some email clients, like Thunderbird, allow you to turn off the display of remote images. This thwarts attempts by spammers to confirm that you've received their email. If your email client has this feature, you should use it.

Unfortunately, once they’ve got you, they've got you. If your email address falls into the hands of a spammer it's tainted and will be passed around among the unscrupulous individuals and companies that produce most spam.

There are a few things you can do to avoid making a bad thing worse:

• If you receive an email that looks like spam, it’s a good idea to delete it without opening it. Opening spam that contains images (even hidden ones) can let the sender know that they’ve reached you successfully. Using Binghamton University web mail (webmail.binghamton.edu) is a great way around this problem.
• Never, ever reply to spam. It only reveals that you're paying attention and would like to receive more.
• For the same reason, never click a spam's "opt-out" option not to receive further e-mail. (The "opt-out" is only worthwhile if the solicitation is from a reputable company.)
• If you need that visceral taste of long-term revenge on your palate, you can always forward the spam to the Federal Trade Commission at: spam@uce.gov before you delete it. If you’re unwilling to take your arrival on a spam list lying down, and reporting a spammer to the FTC isn’t enough, check out http://www.spamfaq.net to begin your journey into the shadowy (but still plenty geeky) world of spam fighting.