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There is no other form of advertising that costs the sender so little and the recipient so much as spam. In fact, the California legislature found that unsolicited email cost US organizations alone more than ten billion dollars in 2004, including lost productivity, and the additional equipment, software, and manpower needed to combat the problem.
 Spam is just not a problem that large organizations have to deal with. Nor is it just a mere annoyance and a waste of our time. It is a real threat to our Internet security and privacy. Junk email can be downright shocking, containing pornography, or worse yet even child porn. Ever received an email from eBay, Paypal, or a financial institution asking you to log onto a website to confirm your online user ID and password or other personal password? Well, if you have, you have likely seen a phishing scam in action. It is called phishing because cyber thieves fish the water with millions of pieces of spam, hoping a few "fish" will swallow the bait. The unsuspecting user thinks that they are going to the companies actual site, when in reality they are going to the criminals site. Think you're off the hook(pardon the pun)? Spam could contain a worm, Trojan Horse, computer virus, keystroke logger, or other malicious software. Online criminals can use spam containing phishing scams and malicious software, such as keyloggers, to steal your personal ID. These crooks can get hold of your banking info, passwords, credit card numbers, etc, to steal your identity. "Come on down", as Bob Barker from the Price Is Right Would Say, "You are the next victim of identity theft!" By the way, identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA. Think that things couldn't get any worse? Spam could actually carry the code and data to turn your computer into a "zombie" sending out spam to other computers. Worse yet, you could be held responsible for all criminal activities perpetrated by others. How nice is that?!? Spam is growing in leaps and bounds with no end in site. History time folks! Who knows when the first email spam was sent? Give up yet? The first spam was sent way back in 1978 to 600 email addresses by DEC, announcing a new DEC machine. DEC, by the way, is now owned by Compaq.Spam has come a long ways since back in the good old days. I was absolutely amazed to learn that the amount of junk email went from thirty billion per day in 2005 to a whopping 55 million per day in 2006. In fact, spam has grown from 5 percent of all emails in 2001 to 95 percent of all emails in 2008! Don't despair yet. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to dramatically decrease the amount of spam in your Inbox. Spam: anti-spam info & tools
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