RESEARCH CENTER

ANTIVIRUS FAQ

> What is Virus?
> What is SPYWARE?
> What is Phishing?
> What is SPAM?
> What is a Firewall?
> How to Keep your pc virus free?
> What to do if ur PC has a virus?
> Simple Steps to protect ur PC
> 10 tips to keep your computer Virus free

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"SPAM" very word sparks irritation, conjuring up the spectre of unwanted, sometimes downright nasty, e-mail clogging up your inbox, day after day, message after message. It's almost like you can't get rid of it; you delete it, and there's another one (or 10, or 20) just like it the next morning.

Spam isn't just a nuisance, it's a huge problem. By any definition, the numbers are staggering. At least 40% (some Internet Service Providers say it's closer to 70%) of all e-mail today is categorized as spam, and that's up from 15% in early 2002. One recent lawsuit charges that less than a dozen companies were responsible for sending out 1 billion pieces of spam, drawing more than 8 million complaints. At the current rate, there'll be nearly 15 billion spam messages sent out daily by 2006. Many of these e-mails are inane or even laughable (phony stock tips, body-enhancement products), but many are also pornographic, and some frankly sickening.

For the consumer, the downside is obvious. It's easier to say "just hit the delete button" than it is to actually do it 100 times over, every day. Even with expanding drive space, it clogs everything from innocent intermediaries' servers to the users' inboxes. Individuals can only feel helpless and frustrated; children are exposed to grossly inappropriate content; businesses lose billions dealing with unwanted messages. And then, of course, some spam contains viruses that crash not just a single PC but an entire network.

And now the really bad news: There's one big winner in the spam invasion, and that's the spammer. Given the economics of the business, if only one out of 100,000 recipients actually buys the product being touted, the entire spamming effort might be profitable. And that's why spam's not going away.

In the long run it's up to you, the consumer, to try and block access to your inbox.

How do spammers get your address?

For a start, companies plough through electronic phone books and attach the names to a variety of domains, particularly well-known ISPs. Low-tech as it sounds, it's still more cost-effective than using post office.

More common, however, is the practice of "harvesting" e-mail addresses, typically by using electronic search tools (variously known as 'bots, spiders and webcrawlers) to root out phrases such as name@ISP.com. Given that the Internet as a communications tool was originally intended to be completely open, these names and addresses are everywhere, from alumni or other organizational listings and greeting card sites to newsgroups and chat rooms. Many users still willingly type e-mail addresses into websites for the chance of winning a (potentially phony) prize.

Finally, there are a number of CD-ROMs with tens of millions of e-mail addresses available for sale to aspiring spammers. Check your e-mail-you might have gotten an ad for one already.

Fight Spam in the following way:

Don't click on Reply or Remove: That just lets spammers know they've reached a valid recipient.

Create a "spare" e-mail address, ideally one without your name: Use this one for newsgroups and contests, or when a third party asks for it.

Beware of posting your e-mail address online: Believe it or not, you probably post it all the time-for newsletter subscriptions, chat rooms, etc. Before you do it, find out whether it'll be posted in an online directory. Use a "spare" address if you have to.

Don't buy spam-advertised products: Aside from encouraging the spammers, this also makes more of your personal information available to spammers. And it absolutely guarantees you'll get more spam.

Finally, just as the spammers use technology to get inside your PC, you can use technology to keep them out. Internet Security Suite offered by a several companies combines a set of must-have security software products that will help protect you from spammers.

Spam may be inevitable, but it's also manageable. For your daily online experience to be both productive and enjoyable, you can use the right tools and the right measures to control what comes into your inbox.