spam Hear it!

spam Definition

spam (spam)

noun

Comput. unsolicited e-mail, often advertisements, sent out over a computer network to many addresses, usually indiscriminately

Etymology: prob. ult. < Spam

transitive verb, intransitive verb spammed, spam′·ming

to send such e-mail to (a user or users)

Spam Definition

Spam (spam)

a kind of canned luncheon meat made from pieces of seasoned pork and ham pressed into a loaf

spam Finance Definition
Unsolicited, unwanted junk e‑mail that is sent to thousands, or even millions, of people at the same time.
Spam Hacker Definition
Unsolicited, unwanted, impersonal email. A U.K.-based Spamhaus Project tracks the Internet’s spammers, gangs, and services, as well as provides spam protection for Internet networks. The Spamhaus Project team also partners with law enforcement agents to identify and catch spammers worldwide. This group says that email can be regarded as “spam” if it has all three of the following attributes: (1) the receiver’s personal identity is irrelevant because the email message sent is actually applicable to multitudes of other receivers; (2) the receiver has not given explicit consent for the email to be sent; (3) the sending and receiving of the email message appears to the receiver to give a “disproportionate benefit” to the sender.

Spam wastes the time and the resources of the receivers. Spam also frequently includes material that many receivers find offensive, such as the marketing of sexual enhancement devices or child pornography.

In the United States, spam reportedly costs nearly $21.6 billion annually in lost productivity, according to the 2004 National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS). The survey, completed annually, tracks U.S. consumers’ online opinions and behaviors. The loss estimate of more than $21 billion was based on U.S. users’ reports that they spend an average of three minutes per day deleting spam at work. With about 170 million U.S. adults online at work, that results in 22.9 million lost hours a week, or $21.6 billion in lost productivity annually when the average wage is factored into the calculation.

Early in 2005, Lycos Europe began offering computer users a weapon against spam-emitting servers. The weapon is actually a screensaver program that automatically visits the Website advertised in the spam. The idea behind this scheme is to have enough of these screensavers running to slow down the Website or make it inaccessible. Lycos Europe encouraged its 22 million users to download the screensaver for their own good, but, they affirmed, anyone who has a computer is welcome to download it.

During the first week of February 2005, however, security experts warned that spam levels could increase drastically in future years because spammers have found a new way to deliver spam. Spamhaus said that a new piece of malware, a Trojan, has been created that gains control of a PC and then uses it to send spam through the mail server of that PC’s Internet Service Provider (ISP). Because the spam appears to come from the ISP, it is next to impossible for an anti-spam blacklist to stop it.

See Also: Child Pornography; Electronic Mail or Email; Internet; Spammers; Trojan.

Demon Spam-Filtering Service. Frequently Asked Questions. [Online, 2004.] Demon Spam-Filtering Service Website. http://www.demon.nl/eng/products/ services/spamfilterfaq1.html; Ilett, D. Spammers tricking ISPs Into Sending Junk Mail. [Online, February 2, 2005.] CNET Networks, Inc. Website. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/ 0,39020369,39186364,00.htm; In Brief. Program Hits Spammers. The Globe and Mail, December 2, 2004, p. B11; In Brief. Spam Wastes $22.9 Million Hours a Week, Survey Finds. The Globe and Mail, February 9, 2005, p. C8.
spam Telecom Definition
Unsolicited e-mail, or junk mail.The term refers to Hormel's ever-popular canned meat product made of processed pork and ham. The analogy supposedly is that junk e-mail is broadcast all over, just as the Hormel meat product spatters when hurled against a solid object with sufficient force. No one likes spam, the junk mail. Lots of people, on the other hand, love SPAM
spam Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • delete: Time spent deleting spam is time wasted, which costs your business money.
  • hate: Manic Monday Limited - SPAM POLICY The basic rule: I hate spam.
  • combat: Visit website Symantec Symantec, like us, believe in combating spam ( junk e-mail ) hard and fast.
  • send: Well, these emails are often sent the same way spam is sent, by sending them via innocent computers.
  • detect: But if you're detecting spam, please don't neglect - or forget - that which is not.
  • relay: There have been instances where spammers will relay spam to you through your ISP.

Adjective modifier

  • unsolicited: Email Legislation Email marketing has received a very bad press recently through the large number of unsolicited spam.
  • unwanted: Protect your business from malicious code from websites and in emails, reduce unwanted spam and prevent users from accessing inappropriate websites.
  • anti: Built-in spam archive viewers to let you easily check all mail that is hit by the anti spam filtering system.
  • illegal: Mr Richter also agreed to let authorities monitor the business for three years to ensure it did not send any illegal spam.

Modifies a noun

  • bot: Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to get on the mailing list.
  • filter: Spam filters can also knock good design out of e-mails which makes brand building a problem.
  • emails: Adult spam emails will usually come from countries where these laws are absent or rarely enforced.
  • blocker: Here's what I was looking for in a spam blocker: Supports unlimited email accounts.
  • e-mails: The deliberate sending of junk or spam e-mails is forbidden.
  • fritter: PS the spam fritter & chips in gravy was to die for!

Preposition: by

  • emailsystems: All the best Chrissie ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scanned for viruses and spam by emailsystems If you believe this email is spam, please forward to spam@emailfiltering.com

Noun used with modifier

  • trackback: I didn't realize you did trackback spam either.
  • anti-spam: Many anti-spam spam remedy services are crude and are capable of losing valuable business communications.
  • comment: Let someone else's servers take the brunt of the comment spam.
spam Quotes

Levin wanted friendship and got friendliness; he wanted steak and they offered spam.

—Malamud, Bernard