Looks like Spam’s Here to Stay
Approximately 300 billion spam messages go out everyday according to a recent Cisco Annual Security report. Over the course of a year, spam emails make up 90 percent of the world’s emails. Given such absurdly large figures, it is essential to maintain strong Internet security practices and to use secure network services.
Spam continues to thrive because it is an easy and cheap marketing tool for advertisers and other parties using it. Even when the vast majority of spam emails are ignored, the small percentage that actually reaches people can help improve the sender’s sales. Not all spam is advertising, though. A great deal of spam is laden with viruses and malware that can compromise a user’s Internet security and network services. In fact, most spam originates from network services infected with spam malware. So strong Internet security is essential to prevent machines from becoming spam hosts.
According to the Spamhaus Project, approximately 100 spam gangs taking advantage of the globalization of network services produce the vast majority of spam targeting the North America and Europe. The computers and network services that generate the highest spam emails are in Brazil, according to Cisco. Approximately 7.7 trillion spam emails originate in Brazil every year. The U.S. is a close second with 6.6 trillion.
Users can try to limit the amount of spam that they get by employing good Internet security practices, but even then, getting some spam is inevitable. The best Internet security measure to fight against spam is to be selective in giving out your email address. Just as you don’t go around telling random strangers where you live, you should protect your email address the same way. If you had to give out your address to a list of criminals every time you wanted a service, wouldn’t you say no? So why do we so readily give out our email addresses to facebook apps and other services?
It’s hard to say whether spam will actually disappear anytime in the foreseeable future. Spammers are already indifferent to laws governing Internet security, so it is unlikely that they will suddenly become concerned about their actions’ legality. Network service providers try to reduce spam, but their attempts are usually futile because of the dangerously simplistic nature of spam. Internet security services that are readily available in email, for example, have limitations. Even advanced ones like Gmail’s spam filter let spam through sometimes. On the other hand, spam filters often perceive harmless or real emails as spam, which can prevent authentic mail from getting through.
Spam is not only annoying, but it can pose a threat to your Internet security and harm your network services in the attempt to produce more spam. Improving Internet security against spam requires action on your part. No one is completely immune to getting spam, but safeguarding your email address is the clear-cut first step towards getting less of it!
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Filed under: Fraud, Internet Security, Malware, networks, phishing, tips, virus