ITIS 1210 Introduction to Web-Based Information Systems Chapter 15 How Spam Works

 What to do about spam?  Unsolicited junk mail  “Good” spam  Buy their goods or services  Visit their Web sites  “Bad” spam  Viruses  Porn

How Spam Works  Where does “spam” come from?  Monty Python's Flying Circus Monty Python's Flying Circus Monty Python's Flying Circus  Why is spam a problem?  Uses resources  Slows down Internet  Takes up space  Takes time and effort to process

How Spam Works  Sending address can be forged  Angry responses go to wrong person  Hard to filter if using real person’s address as sender’s address  Senders can use other servers to send spam – pushing the costs off on others

How Spam Works  Spammers buy lists  Private companies  Send same message to tens of thousands of recipients at the same time  May relay messages from different servers to hide their identify or real location

How Spam Works  Should you respond to spam by asking to be removed from the list? NO! It verifies that your address is active!