Will Spam Ever Stop?

Spam is a problem that is growing exponentially. It is now believed that spam accounts for over 75% of all email correspondence on the internet. Each day the average net user will find dozens or even hundreds of new messages in their bulk mail folder and even a few stragglers that the spam filters don't catch. The messages invariably advertise pornographic sites, male enhancement medication, illegal drugs mailed to your home, mortgage offers and stock tips. Of course there are also the flagrant fraud messages from African princes offering millions of dollars if you will just cash a check for them. There are also messages that are garbled with poor English or emails containing deliberate misspellings that are trying to fool the spam filters. Some messages simply make no sense at all and are not discernibly advertising anything.

Of course most of us never even read these messages. Opening a spam message can infect your computer with a virus that will allow a spammer to harvest your email address book and personal information as well as use your computer as a "zombie" from which to send countless spam messages to other users. It is this last trick that allows most modern spammers to flood the internet with their junk messages without paying for any of them and without being detected by internet service providers attempting to enforce anti-spam legislation. Beyond the tangible risk to our computers we also don't open these messages on general principles. The modern world, especially in most major cities has become a deluge of unsolicited phone calls, emails, faxes and pamphlets. Many people simply will not read any information that they did not request. Thus through common sense, modern technology and a strong resolve not to be bullied by contemporary advertising, the overwhelming majority of spam messages are relegated to bulk mail folders and are summarily deleted each day.