The Internet is one of the most significant achievements of mankind within the framework of modernity, giving each user a lot of opportunities. Information, which is one of the most important values ​​today, is accumulating at a staggering rate in the Global Network , which makes it possible for everyone, without exception, to recognize any aspects that accompany reality, draw on previously inaccessible information, study a lot of interesting and necessary works in daily activities, and finally the pleasure of entertainment opportunities and much more - the list goes on and on. Confirmation of the fact that modern man can no longer do without the Internet is not only his enormous popularity, but also the continuous growth of the Global Network, which has already spread across all corners of the globe.
However, like any human activity, in addition to the wonderful opportunities provided to users, the Internet is also characterized by a mass of negative moments represented by receiving inaccurate information, fraud, loss of confidential data, finally, Internet addiction, and many other troubles that await the user in the vastness of the Global Network . Today we’ll talk about such a thing as spam, annoying a huge mass of users every day.
Spam is the distribution of information that carries intrusive advertising or other data to persons who have not expressed a desire to receive this information. The generally accepted meaning of the term "spam" is used in relation to the distribution of e-mails. In recent years, spam has become a broader concept - spammers have captured virtually all the channels for receiving information via the Internet, including instant messaging services, message boards, forums, etc. Moreover, spam has already gone beyond the limits of the Global Network, for example, today it’s not surprising for anyone that information that is not requested comes via SMS. For a complete understanding of the problem, it is enough to cite the only fact - as of 2011, the share of spam in the mail traffic of the whole world is approximately 80%.
Depending on the goals of spammers, it is divided into many types. They are represented by advertising legal goods; advertising of products distributed illegally; anti-advertising; information designed to entice money from the recipient (scammers use a variety of methods - “Nigerian letters”, phishing, etc.); the spread of viruses; dissemination of information from another person in order to cause a negative attitude towards him; collecting e-mail addresses and many other types.
Are there ways to guarantee 100% protection of the user from receiving spam messages? Unfortunately, today there is no way to completely protect yourself from spammers. Of course, leading companies that produce anti-virus software, email services, instant messaging clients, and many other Internet businesses using fair competition methods, are constantly developing various systems that prevent users from getting questionable messages. Today, even free e-mail services offer a feature called anti-spam checking, instant messaging services introduce various anti-spam bots that offer the user to enter questions for anti-spam that will be asked to unauthorized users, etc. etc. At the same time, none of the systems is characterized by 100% efficiency - how quickly anti-spam methods are implemented, so quickly the individuals who disseminate it find ways to circumvent existing barriers. Of course, you shouldn’t refuse protection, otherwise the work on the Internet will turn into an endless allocation of the necessary and useful digital “garbage” from the “mountain”, but you also should not hope that spammers will not get to you.