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Spam Filtering: Monty Python & canned pork
Hormel Foods officially maintains a no spam policy, at least when it comes to e-mail.
According to Hormel, the evolution of the word spam to mean "unsolicited or junk e-mail" comes from a Monty Python skit. Think shrubbery or "We are no longer the knights who say ni! We are now the knights who say ekki-ekki-ekki-pitang-zoom-boing!". In the relevant skit a chorus of Vikings sing, "Spam, spam, spam," at increasing volumes to drown out other conversation. The analogy works well for information age spam because it drowns out normal discourse on the Internet.
Everyday spammers try to find new ways to get into your e-mail inbox. And here's a new phrase for you to know, "phishing". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing) Phishing is an e-mail solicitation that targets getting credentials for the recipient such as account number and passwords. Once the information is mined, within hours, fraudulent transactions begin to appear on the accounts that have been tapped. The impact on consumers and businesses is staggering. Some reports put the total money gained by "phishers" at a half billion dollars.
Some e-mail messages are advertising plugs and several deliver viruses, spyware or adware to your network. Without question, spam clogs the arteries of your network and decreases the efficacy of e-mail.
Today, e-mail is a critical tool in conducting day to day business operations, and so it is extremely important to keep the electronic postal service on your network as clean as possible. I have two words for you: Spam Filtering.
Spam filtering can easily help you manage this problem by:
- White lists and black lists-a white list is a list of approved e-mail addresses that each user defines. All other messages are sent to the black list where they are blocked, filed or deleted.
- Blocks Sporn-a good e-mail filter will block pornography and "adult content" messages
- Organizes e-mail-some users do not want to block all their e-mails. Many programs allow users to create folders such as games, financial, etc. so that incoming e-mails are automatically deposited into the appropriate folder. It allows the user to organize and choose.
This is an easy fix to a major problem. I've attached a few links for your reference.
Talk to you soon,
Jim
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