Post by juju on Apr 27, 2006 14:44:42 GMT -5
Register of Known Spam Operations (ROSKO)
Maintained by the Spamhaus Project, ROSKO is a public database of individuals and organizations with a history of distributing unsolicited bulk e-mail, or spam. Spammers who have been kicked off three or more ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are listed on ROSKO. The list provides a resource for ISPs dealing with these organizations or individuals. A record goes dormant after six months if no further complaints are received. The record will reappear again if any new reports are received.
spam
Spam is a popular term referring to unwanted commercial e-mail, the equivalent of junk mail (generally advertisements) delivered to a mailbox. Spam can also be used as a verb, meaning to send junk e-mail. An online company might advertise, for example, “We will never spam you,” meaning that frequent e-mail campaigns will not be conducted.
Spam is also, of course, an actual product made by Hormel (a canned luncheon meat composed of pork shoulder and ham) that was introduced in the 1920s. The product was quickly imitated, and Hormel lost market share. The word “spam” was actually the result of a contest to come up with a catchy name—likely a joining of the word “spicy” with “ham.”
The leap from lunchmeat to e-mail is generally credited to a Monty Python skit popular in the early days of the Internet. It consisted of recitation of a restaurant menu on which each dish contained Spam. (Another skit, in which a group of Vikings sing the word “spam” over and over, is also cited.) The connotation that Spam was something too plentiful became associated with Internet mail, and a new entry to the computer lexicon was coined.
Whether an item is spam is largely in the eye of the beholder. The document you find in your e-mail inbox offering 10 CDs for the price of one may be spam to you. For the marketing manager on the sending end, however, it may represent his best hope of making a sale.
Many times, too, mail you receive that appears to be unsolicited is actually mail you’ve given the companies permission to send while registering products online or signing on to Web sites. Most companies make it simple to unsubscribe and post messages plainly, so there is no need to clog your inbox with items you don’t actually want. On the other hand, spammers sometimes use an “unsubscribe” response to verify that an e-mail address is live. They make their money by selling the address to others.
Early spammings are now part of Internet lore—money-making schemes offensive to newsgroup users. A retaliatory measure to combat spam became known as flaming, sending an insulting verbal reprimand to the spammer. Mail bombs, extremely large e-mails that use so much space on the spammer’s server that it sometimes crashes, were also deployed.
Spam can be an annoyance and an aggravation, and it can cost money. All Internet traffic generates cost, and we all share in paying it; consequently, to some extent, we all pay for spam. If a user wishes to be proactive, antispam software products are on the market and ISPs (Internet service providers) often make filtering devices available to subscribers.
Should you wish to take more combative measures, the Spam Recycling Center (http://www.spamrecycle.com) will forward your spam to federal authorities. Visit the O’Reilly Stop Spam Center (http://stopspam.oreilly.com) for in-depth news and extensive spam-busting techniques.
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) monitors spam, to the extent it is regulated. It also rates congressional attention. In March 2001, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced HR 1017 IH, the Anti-Spamming Act of 2001, which, if adopted, would pro hibit spam.
spam
As a noun, unsolicited bulk email on the Internet or Usenet newsgroup postings sent to large numbers of newsgroups. As a verb, to send copies of the same types of messages. Advertisers often spam recipients intending to market products, Web sites, or commentary. The beneficiary often considers spam as junk mail, and it is considered poor form to send it. A person or email address that receives many unwanted messages is said to have been "spammed."
spamdexing
Strategies used by some Web marketers and hosts as a way of keeping their services at the top of search engine results. Spamdexing includes submitting multiple, yet slightly altered, Web sites to a search engine, and "word stuffing," which places a word or keywords in a site numerous times, to ensure the search engine will bring up the site as one of the top keyword matches. Other techniques include "bait-and-switch" gimmicks, such as loading the site with frequently used keywords such as "free,""sex," "money," or "shareware," even though the words have nothing to do with actual site content.
spammer
An entity, such as a person or a computer application, that distributes spam, the email equivalent of junk or bulk mail.
spampoena
A subpoena distributed to hundreds of recipients through email. Prosecutors distributed the first spampoena in the case of CPhack, a program developed with the intent of countering parental Internet control software called Cyber Patrol. Cyber Patrol required a parental password to view sites with pornographic or otherwise objectionable Web content, and CPhack was programmed to give users the password, thereby circumventing Cyber Patrol’s protection. During a legal battle in Massachusetts in March 2000, a U.S. District Judge allowed the prosecution a restraining order against the program’s makers and approved the prosecution’s request to distribute subpoenas to sites distributing CPhack via email. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) later protested such distribution of subpoenas on the ground that it violated the rights of third parties receiving the subpoenas, as well as the spirit of laws governing the serving of subpoenas.
spit (spam over Internet telephony)
The equivalent of unsolicited email that is sent to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) voicemail boxes.
word spamming
Repeating a word on a Web page in an attempt to increase its relevancy when people perform a Web search. This attempt is usually in vain, as search engines typically locate information using methods other than a simple word search.
Maintained by the Spamhaus Project, ROSKO is a public database of individuals and organizations with a history of distributing unsolicited bulk e-mail, or spam. Spammers who have been kicked off three or more ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are listed on ROSKO. The list provides a resource for ISPs dealing with these organizations or individuals. A record goes dormant after six months if no further complaints are received. The record will reappear again if any new reports are received.
spam
Spam is a popular term referring to unwanted commercial e-mail, the equivalent of junk mail (generally advertisements) delivered to a mailbox. Spam can also be used as a verb, meaning to send junk e-mail. An online company might advertise, for example, “We will never spam you,” meaning that frequent e-mail campaigns will not be conducted.
Spam is also, of course, an actual product made by Hormel (a canned luncheon meat composed of pork shoulder and ham) that was introduced in the 1920s. The product was quickly imitated, and Hormel lost market share. The word “spam” was actually the result of a contest to come up with a catchy name—likely a joining of the word “spicy” with “ham.”
The leap from lunchmeat to e-mail is generally credited to a Monty Python skit popular in the early days of the Internet. It consisted of recitation of a restaurant menu on which each dish contained Spam. (Another skit, in which a group of Vikings sing the word “spam” over and over, is also cited.) The connotation that Spam was something too plentiful became associated with Internet mail, and a new entry to the computer lexicon was coined.
Whether an item is spam is largely in the eye of the beholder. The document you find in your e-mail inbox offering 10 CDs for the price of one may be spam to you. For the marketing manager on the sending end, however, it may represent his best hope of making a sale.
Many times, too, mail you receive that appears to be unsolicited is actually mail you’ve given the companies permission to send while registering products online or signing on to Web sites. Most companies make it simple to unsubscribe and post messages plainly, so there is no need to clog your inbox with items you don’t actually want. On the other hand, spammers sometimes use an “unsubscribe” response to verify that an e-mail address is live. They make their money by selling the address to others.
Early spammings are now part of Internet lore—money-making schemes offensive to newsgroup users. A retaliatory measure to combat spam became known as flaming, sending an insulting verbal reprimand to the spammer. Mail bombs, extremely large e-mails that use so much space on the spammer’s server that it sometimes crashes, were also deployed.
Spam can be an annoyance and an aggravation, and it can cost money. All Internet traffic generates cost, and we all share in paying it; consequently, to some extent, we all pay for spam. If a user wishes to be proactive, antispam software products are on the market and ISPs (Internet service providers) often make filtering devices available to subscribers.
Should you wish to take more combative measures, the Spam Recycling Center (http://www.spamrecycle.com) will forward your spam to federal authorities. Visit the O’Reilly Stop Spam Center (http://stopspam.oreilly.com) for in-depth news and extensive spam-busting techniques.
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) monitors spam, to the extent it is regulated. It also rates congressional attention. In March 2001, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced HR 1017 IH, the Anti-Spamming Act of 2001, which, if adopted, would pro hibit spam.
spam
As a noun, unsolicited bulk email on the Internet or Usenet newsgroup postings sent to large numbers of newsgroups. As a verb, to send copies of the same types of messages. Advertisers often spam recipients intending to market products, Web sites, or commentary. The beneficiary often considers spam as junk mail, and it is considered poor form to send it. A person or email address that receives many unwanted messages is said to have been "spammed."
spamdexing
Strategies used by some Web marketers and hosts as a way of keeping their services at the top of search engine results. Spamdexing includes submitting multiple, yet slightly altered, Web sites to a search engine, and "word stuffing," which places a word or keywords in a site numerous times, to ensure the search engine will bring up the site as one of the top keyword matches. Other techniques include "bait-and-switch" gimmicks, such as loading the site with frequently used keywords such as "free,""sex," "money," or "shareware," even though the words have nothing to do with actual site content.
spammer
An entity, such as a person or a computer application, that distributes spam, the email equivalent of junk or bulk mail.
spampoena
A subpoena distributed to hundreds of recipients through email. Prosecutors distributed the first spampoena in the case of CPhack, a program developed with the intent of countering parental Internet control software called Cyber Patrol. Cyber Patrol required a parental password to view sites with pornographic or otherwise objectionable Web content, and CPhack was programmed to give users the password, thereby circumventing Cyber Patrol’s protection. During a legal battle in Massachusetts in March 2000, a U.S. District Judge allowed the prosecution a restraining order against the program’s makers and approved the prosecution’s request to distribute subpoenas to sites distributing CPhack via email. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) later protested such distribution of subpoenas on the ground that it violated the rights of third parties receiving the subpoenas, as well as the spirit of laws governing the serving of subpoenas.
spit (spam over Internet telephony)
The equivalent of unsolicited email that is sent to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) voicemail boxes.
word spamming
Repeating a word on a Web page in an attempt to increase its relevancy when people perform a Web search. This attempt is usually in vain, as search engines typically locate information using methods other than a simple word search.