Investigating Methods for Reducing Spam By: Steven Siggers Instructor: Marko Puljic

Introduction I choose this project to discover how users can reduce spam . Explain my objectives for reducing spam . My background information about spam will include the history of what spam is all about.

Objectives Explain the background information about spam . Discuss the history of Spam. Why users receive so much Spam. What types of Spam are present today.

What is Spam? Spam is an unwanted or messages posting usually advertising some product or service. Spam is also considered commercial advertising, often for uncertain products, or get-rich-quick schemes. Spam targets individual users with direct mail messages.

History of Spam Spam was invented in 1994 by 2 American lawyers named Canter and Siegel. The word spam itself comes from the American food producer, Hormel, who produces a meat product. Most spam s come from USA, but other countries such as Korea, Russia, and China are also sending spam.

Why users receive so much Spam? According to spamfighter.com, spam is considered as cheap marketing products. Spam messages are sent to millions of people that costs less than a dollar. Users should never purchase anything advertised by spam, because it increases more spam. So if there is something advertised by spam that interest you, find it somewhere else online.

What kind of Spam exist today? The most typical type of spam is an offering products or services. These s are filled with words such as free, viagra, loan, sex, etc. Phishing- s: You suddenly will get an from your bank, or credit card company with a warning that you should quickly change your password on your net banking because there is a possibility that a person has broken into your account. You click on the link and don’t realize that you are coming into a perfect copy of your banks website. Here you give your username and password, you come in, and get the right to change your settings followed by a message that everything is ok now.

Example of Phishing

References content/uploads/2009/01/ -spam.gif content/uploads/2009/01/ -spam.gif