The Explosive Return of Spam

Spam has become a major concern for everyone using the Internet. The latter half of 2006 has seen a noticeable increase in spam. A spam filtering firm called Ironport says that junk mail has doubled in volume since 2005.

A major part of this troublesome new kind of spam is image spam, where a picture carries the message of the advertisement. Normal spam detectors that search for giveaway phrases are thus fooled. Ironport says that this breed of spam has quadrupled since 2005 and now accounts for 25 to 45% of all junk mail. Moreover, spammers greatly multiply their messages by gaining access to other people's computers and scattering the mails without paying anything.

According to a study, unsolicited messages now take up 91% of all electronic mails. In the last year, the daily quantity of spam went up 120%. The study says that the spectacular increase in spam attacks on business networks has placed the Internet under a state of siege.

Agence France Presse observes that spammers are becoming more and more aggressive and refined in their methods of attack. Protection against spam is once again a leading burning issue. Besides, spam has changed from a device for unwanted hackers and irritating marketers to an instrument for criminal activities. A whole industry has risen to counter this invasive phenomenon.

The war against spam has received encouragement from federal legislation in 2003 that made it obligatory for spammers to give people the option to opt out of receiving future messages and laid down prison terms for transgressors. Some spammers have been imprisoned and others have seen their e-mails obstructed.

Enterprises fighting spam have redoubled their efforts. The most useful spam blocker remains the 'delete' button on each computer. junk e-mails will not cease to flow as long as spammers can make easy money and reach out to a credulous public.

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