In today’s modern society, one thing that we are all familiar with is spam. This is, of course, a reference not to the canned pre-cooked meat product, but to the internet kind that has plagued the world-wide web since e-mail began. Although it seems impossible to cure this infection, the good news is that there is protection! Here are a few tips on how to arm yourself against the hordes of inbox invaders.
Know your enemy!
What exactly is spam? Understanding what it is that you are fighting against can only help you to combat the problem. Also known as ‘junk mail’, spam is very much like the leaflets and flyers you receive through your letter box. Spam is often unwanted and irrelevant and annoyingly, comes in many forms.
In simple terms, spam is the use of e-mail systems to send out mass communications, potentially thousands and millions in one go, to any e-mail address in existence. Spam usually arrives hand in hand with advertising, offering legitimate, but sometimes dodgy, deals to entice the user into clicking the links within the message. Spam e-mails can often fill your inbox; sources suggest that as of August 2010, it was estimated that over 200 billion spam messages were sent every day! Furthermore, a Microsoft security report claimed that over 97% of emails sent around the globe are unwanted! This is no small outbreak; it’s an epidemic!
Why do I need protecting?
Spam affects us all; not only is it rife within our homes, but the business world holds no immunity either. First of all, we will start by looking at how it affects the individual.
Regardless of how, it is true that spam has found its way into your inbox. Besides taking such a long time to clean up after, spam has a reputation for spreading harmful malware and viruses. Perhaps you were wondering why a friend, one that you haven’t spoken to in years, is suddenly attempting to sell you Viagra via e-mail. Clicking links in spam emails, without any wilful act of consent from you as the user, will often lead to the spam emails hacking into your account and using your address to send even more messages to your entire contact list! By clicking any links in a spam email, you are putting your personal files and details on your computer at risk.
Spam is getting even better at disguising its content, and passing it off as a genuine link that you need to visit! ‘Phishing attempts’ also seek, through messages that are disguised as help or advice, to gain access to passwords and important financial or personal details!
Moving onto the business realm, spam can be even more dangerous. It would be a shock to most companies to see just how much time their employees lose as a direct result of junk mail. Recent research has estimated that spam is costing UK businesses £1.3bn every year, through loss of productivity, IT costs and IT support charges. Cleaning out spam, and repairing the damage it can do, is incredibly time consuming, and in business, time is money.
Staying Safe
Fear not; there is a solution! Anti-spam techniques are becoming absolutely vital for protecting individuals, and entire businesses. For those who want to combat the costs incurred by wasted time and unnecessary help desk call-outs a superior and worthy investment can be found in hiring anti-spam specialists such as http://www.cheekymunkey.co.uk/ that have dedicated their companies to helping yours.
These kind of handy service providers make trawling through hundreds and thousands of spam messages a thing of the past. Fight fire with fire, and use technology against technology! The methods utilised involve creating several comprehensive layers of protection to block out viruses, phishing attempts, and other incoming attacks.
Conclusion
Getting protection is extremely cost effective, as well as providing access to a constantly updated, intelligent and powerful solution to your problem. Let a specialist anti-spam software company do the hard work for you, while you invest your valuable time into productive work or enjoying your spare time. Stopping spam in its tracks is essential, so waste no time, and get guarded today.
Image credits: andycarvin, and blakewest
