SPAM

Austin, Minnesota, 1937 Hormel Company introduces spicy ham in a 12 ounce can.  SPAM is born!  If you want to know more about this SPAM, including recipes, go to www.spam.com .

September 1987 Monty Python does the Spam skit.  A customer in a cafe can only order breakfast with Spam.  If you want to read or hear the skit go to http://www.detritus.org/spam/skit.html  .

Spam as we mean it in this context is:  Unsolicited e-mail, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups; junk e-mail.

The following is taken from:  PC Magazine 2/25/3.

In 2001 8% of all email is unsolicited and unwanted, this year it will be 40%!  76 billion spam emails will be sent worldwide this year!  Adult-oriented spam has doubled over the past year to 8% of all email messages.  16% of personal email address changes are motivated by the desire to avoid spam.  The average user received 2200 spam messages in 2002, this will increase by 63% by 2007. 

Spammers have many ways of getting your email address.  Here are the most prevalent.

Here are some spam blocking products and their ratings:

NAME RATING* COST AVAILABILITY
Junk Spy 2.02 2 $59 www.junkspy.com
Mail Washer 2.0.18 (beta) 3 $20 www.mailwasher.net
Matador 1.0.0.89 2 $29.95 www.mailfrontier.com
Norton Internet Security 2003 2 $69.95 www.symantec.com
Spam Assassin Pro 2003** 3 $29.95 www.deersoft.com
Spam Butcher 1.3b 1 $29.95 www.mailshell.com/spamcatcher
Spam Killer 3 $39.95 www.spamkiller.com
Spam Net 1.0 Beta 7c 2 free in beta www.cloudmark.com/products/spamnet
Spam Catcher 2.1h 3 $19.95 www.mailshell.com/spamcatcher
MAC OS X Mail 10.2*** 4 $129 www.apple.com/macosx 

*         Ratings:  1 Poor, 2 Fair, 3 Good, 4 Very Good, 5 Excellent
**       Editors Choice
***     MAC only

Top Antispam Tips

  1. Guard your in box
  2. Use free Web nail accounts
  3. Use a disposable email address
  4. Use fake addresses
  5. Don't post your address
  6. Don't answer spam.  Ever.
  7. Opt out
  8. Read the privacy policy
  9. Use a spam filter