Do you like spam? No, I'm not kidding. Everybody knows what spam is, almost everybody seems to have learned by heart simple advice like "do not click ?" "do not respond?" , "do not buy?" but--
On March 23, 2005 Mirapoint and the Radicati Group, a consulting and market research firm, released preliminary results of their end-user survey on email hygiene. "This preliminary data is surprising and somewhat shocking to us," said Marcel Nienhuis, market analyst at the Radicati Group.
The survey shows that some end users haven't learned the lesson and still make the same blunders.
Blunder 1 -- clicking on embedded links within spam (not including the unsubscribe link) -- 31% of respondents have done it at least once. The most dangerous mistake.
Clicking on any embedded links in spam messages helps spammers determine 'live' email accounts, which means more spam. What's worse, users can pick viruses, Trojans or other malicious code--just by clicking on embedded links. It may cause various problems, including loss of confidential information--identity theft, and loss of money from bank accounts as a result.
Users shouldn't forget about such threat as phishing. Not long ago, on February. 15, 2005, it was the Radicati Group that pointed out --fraud and phishing types of email are one of the fastest growing segments of spam. In the first quarter of 2005 the Radicati Group expects fraudulent emails to reach 8% of all spam.
Blunder 2 -- trying to unsubscribe to spam using the 'unsubscribe' link in the email -- 18% of respondents
Some users are naive enough to think that spammers really won't send any junk mail to their addresses if they tell them not to. Haven't they heard that spammers use the unsubscribe link solely to identify active email accounts. When individual email addresses or entire domains are found to be active, they are doomed to flood of spam.
Blunder 3 -- What's more: Over 10% of respondents have purchased products advertised in spam. Sending out huge volumes of spam is very cheap, so let's face it--spam is an effective means of advertising. Spam is booming, and these 10% users who actually bought anything advertised by spam, are partly to blame for it.
The consequences can be very serious when such a user is at work. Online criminals find more and more ways of stealing valuable information, some of these techniques include spam. Spam filters won't solve the whole problem; much still depends on end users. Marcel Nienhuis, analyst from the Radicati Group, was absolutely right when said " no technology in the world can protect an organisation if users' exercise bad email behaviour."
Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at Raytown Corporation, LLC-an independent software developing company. This company provides software capable of disabling information-stealing modules, which can be hidden inside spyware as well as viruses, worms and Trojans. Learn more -- visit the company's website http://www.anti-keyloggers.com
home sanitizing services Park Ridge ...What is spam ? ... Read More
Even being as careful as possible with my email address,... Read More
You are familiar with the software applications that you run... Read More
I'm really, truly fed up with spam. Every day when... Read More
Anyone who uses email knows what Spam is!It's annoying and... Read More
Spam, as defined in the context of computers, the Internet... Read More
A friend asked me: I don't get it. Why do... Read More
While we all agree that there`s way too much spamming/junk-mailing... Read More
Do you like spam? No, I'm not kidding. Everybody knows... Read More
For years I didn't worry much about spam.But lately it's... Read More
Why is someone from India, Africa, or elsewhere writing you... Read More
A friend of mine received a chilling email message from... Read More
You're not alone!Who hasn't surfed the web looking for information... Read More
You just sat at your desk, opened your email account... Read More
About a month ago I had the privilege of giving... Read More
Do you get bounced, or rejected emails sent by someone... Read More
Spam can be a lot more damaging than you might... Read More
If you are buried in SPAM then you're not alone.... Read More
What do they do? How do they work? Which one... Read More
E-mails now have a connection back to their servers. I... Read More
I'm sure you find spam just as frustrating and annoying... Read More
Why do so many people think I need to take... Read More
We receive so much information on the Internet, especially via... Read More
With SPAM being such a problem it might seem the... Read More
Spammers get email addresses from web pages using programs called... Read More
local house cleaners Winnetka ...News last week that Internet service provider Verizon settled its... Read More
Microsoft scores one for the good guysScott Richter, the self-proclaimed... Read More
My friends in the web hosting business have recently informed... Read More
RSS is the answer to the Spam epidemic of the... Read More
What comes to your mind when you think about your... Read More
Email is the quintessential business communication tool, so when it... Read More
The harmful affects of pornography use and addiction are well... Read More
One of our Australian clients sent out a campaign using... Read More
Spam can be a lot more damaging than you might... Read More
Phishing is rapidly becoming on the largest threats to your... Read More
Block Spam and Other Email Threats From Entering Your Gateway... Read More
6 August, 2004: Polesoft Inc., home of Professional anti spam... Read More
For years I didn't worry much about spam.But lately it's... Read More
How would you feel if you found a link on... Read More
There are hundreds of thousands of people who are trying... Read More
Email is rapidly becoming the standard means of communication among... Read More
1. Ignore Spam EmailDo not open an unsolicited email. Spammers... Read More
Anyone who uses email knows what Spam is!It's annoying and... Read More
You are familiar with the software applications that you run... Read More
Your message is not being delivered.If you send emails to... Read More
Each day we all face the same challenge. Spam. It... Read More
Death by spam is now possible with a new device... Read More
A friend asked me: I don't get it. Why do... Read More
You may have already received a do not spam list... Read More
Marketers usually think of anti-spam tactics as 'how to prevent'... Read More
Spam Blocking |