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IN THE END...: Friendly fire
Spam started as a minor nuisance and over the years the problem has grown into a major issue on the web. Networks now experience spam volumes that account for 40 to 60 per cent of all emails, highlighting the growing need for preventive measures and policies.
Lately, quite a few reports have drawn the professionals’ attention to this issue. For instance, there was a news item about a man in the US, who was sentenced to nine years in jail for sending millions of junk emails promoting pornography and sham products. Based on the analysis of all spam messages received at its global network of spam traps from January to March 2005, Sophos, a network security concern, has announced its annual list of top spam-producing countries.
Then, there is the fact that individual users are spending an increasing amount of time to dump this unwanted garbage and to look into intriguing offers that are too tempting too ignore. Even when one tries to put in simple filters to block spam, chances are that the sender simply changes one character on their address and can, therefore, easily bypass the filters. In a recent report, Ferris Research estimates that spam will cost the world about $50 billion in 2005. According to Gartner, a company with 10,000 employees, loses about $13 million worth of productivity annually, because of spam alone. This does not account for technical costs and spam from unknown senders. Another report by the European Union, estimates the global bandwidth cost of spam to be at least $8 billion annually.
The word “spam” was coined to describe the indiscriminate, internet experience that refers to “unsolicited email on the internet”. From the sender’s point of view, it is a form of bulk mail, often to a list culled from different sources. To the receiver, it usually seems like junk email.
In general, it is not considered good netiquette to send spam. Some apparently unsolicited email is, in fact, the email which people agree to receive when they register with a site and check a box agreeing to receive postings about particular products or interests,” (Whatis.com).
Zania Hussain, a techie, has much to say on the subject: “It is almost impossible to tell which unwanted mail is actually spam, especially for those who happen to be on the internet a lot and sign up for things online. Often, unwanted email might not be spam. True spam is email sent via bulk mailing lists that may not have anything to do with what one ever signed up on the internet. Purchasing email information from those where one signs up, or many other sources, generate these bulk mailing lists. It is not spam if it is not a bulk mailing list. A dead giveaway of spam is that there is no way to unsubscribe.”
When the internet changed from an academic and research network to a commercial tool, the wonderful utility of electronic communication became an easy and economical method for spamming. Commercial spammers, as well as some non-commercial users, started taking advantage of the email as their personal medium to publicize anything they want to promote — hoaxes, ideas, products or services regardless of “netiquettes,” traditional societal courtesies and or established marketing methods.
Techies and internet-savvy individuals use email services for setting up virus-free multiple email accounts, though it takes more time, navigation, and procedure, as compared to client-based services. The email service providers have ultimate control, over incoming and outgoing mails, which implies that users of these services will keep receiving spam, no matter what. The spam filters of email providers may be effective, but will let their own spam through, as well as spam from their business associates who pay the providers will also find way to the inboxes of their subscribers.
The “free-rider” spammers (people who send spam via PCs and portals using spam for promotion, or contractual third parties engaged in sending out spam) are very innovative, as far as finding the right email addresses is concerned. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to tell how spammers acquire even well-guarded email addresses in the first place. For the better part, websites offering promotional newsletters and commercial mail sometimes violate the choices subscribers exercise, while registering.
In some cases, the sites also have hidden options about use and mutual sharing of email addresses with other partners that most users fail to notice. Then, there are newsgroups and directories. Surprisingly, the chances of receiving spam are there, even if the email address has not been shared in any way. But the systems used by spammers are not very “smart,” as far as the target audience is concerned. One may find “Dear Mr. johartown” in place of name (read as personal name of the account holder from the email address) in such an email.
Some spam may also carry embedded virus contents that cause damage to the networks or users’ computers. Since the start of email abuse, network administrators and internet users have been devising various technical methods to overcome this problem. Whereas individual users may use filters, software, delete spam without opening, bear with unsolicited traffic spending internet time, while deleting them and may have a very cautious approach while using their email addresses, network administrators are deploying and increasingly sophisticated range of technologies to detect and block spammers. So far, spammers appear to be winning the race.
The effects of the spam may be network breakdowns and congestion, in the face of increasing demand for faster and bigger bandwidth by customers, whereas to senders, it costs almost nothing. Spam is unique, because the receiver pays more for it than the sender. Pakistani businesses, so far, have not added much to the bulk of spam flying around. But internet users, individual, as well as the corporate sector here, are equally exposed to the nuisance.
Some Pakistani businesses have already deployed system-wide spam filters to protect themselves. But individual users mostly are unprotected and local ISPs are not very receptive to complaints on the subject, which is why an internet user in Multan keeps getting offers to buy a house in Miami.
So what can users do to have email accounts just for own use and not for spammers? The business can, and should, deploy system filters and fight this menace at the organizational level. More importantly, they should not resort to spamming. “Individuals can, in addition to some disposable accounts for a ‘hit-and-run’ strategy with spammers, have one account with no online subscriptions, set filters on highest level provided, and add the addresses you want to communicate with,” says Zania. Chances are that spam will not pour into that account, or at least it will be manageable and will not flood your inbox, if it is not emptied for a couple of days. If spam cannot be managed, email may eventually lose its utility.
Sophos says that the “most effective way that businesses can reduce spam and other threats, is to adopt a multi-layered defence in conjunction with implementing a best practice policy regarding email account usage.”
This is a collective problem and all users should join hands and fight together. A combination of technology, legislation and internet stakeholders, along with good individual practices will certainly have an impact.
The writer’s email is sajshirazi@hotmail.com
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