A new organization, Anti Spam League addresses this issue and others that are affecting both consumers and site owners in current fight against rising problem of spam.

(PRWEB) November 15, 2004 -- Spam (definition) Unsolicited Bulk Email — noun. ‘Unsolicited’ means that recipient has not given verifiable permission for message to be sent. ‘Bulk’ means that message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having basically identical content.

Although there still seem to be some differences among US Government, lawmakers, anti-spam organizations and spammers regarding what is spam and what is not, identifying it is actually pretty easy: if you did not ask for it, you did not sign up on a mailing list related to it, and did not leave your e-mail address on a web form asking for more information on it…it's spam! The spam issue is not about content, but solely about delivery method. The content of spam is and has always been irrelevant. Again, if it is sent unsolicited and in bulk, it is spam plain and simple.

Sure we want spam to stop. Nobody wants their e-mail address cycling around from spammer to spammer. We can delete it, but have you ever stopped to consider how much time we actually spend each day hitting ‘Delete’ button? We should not have to beg to be removed from something we did not ask to be put on in first place! So where do we draw line? When do we start thinking it is not worth logging into our email account to read our messages? Despite effort of thousands of angry spam victims pushing for stronger laws against spammers over last few years, not much progress has been done in this respect. Moreover, in January 2004 U.S. Government has passed CAN-SPAM Act, a law backed overwhelmingly by spammers and large corporations, because it legalized spamming instead of banning it. With passage of CAN-SPAM, spamming has become legal throughout United States. Now 23 million U.S. businesses can all begin spamming email addresses as long as they give users a way to opt-out. What CAN-SPAM makes illegal is use of open proxies or any form of resource misappropriation as well as use of false headers, which for top spammers to avoid is business as usual. We will not argue here about motives of US law makers to pass CAN-SPAM, but rather focus on problem of doing something about spam in your mailbox. By doing more than "just hitting delete", you are helping to solve problem. We should all exercise our right of control, or we will lose it.

The million dollar question is whether it is possible to stop spam. The most honest answer to this question is probably not -- but you can significantly reduce it. Below are some clear and simple tips to some common mistakes that can greatly reduce amount of spam you get: 1) Use a separate email address when you post messages to public forums, such as newsgroups and mailing lists. Never use your personal email address for this purpose -- or it will end up flooded with spam.

2) Consider acquiring multiple email addresses for different purposes. This helps to identify different sources and senders, and allows you to filter more effectively. For instance, you may have one for personal use only by friends, family or colleagues that is never used to request information or to subscribe to newsletters, discussion lists, etc. Another might be used just for sales inquiries or orders, or for making online purchases.

This is first of a five-part series on Maximizing Email Security ROI

In realm of email security threats, costs of spam are relatively easy to recognize. Although most organizations rarely, if ever, take time to calculate their spam costs, they can easily account for losses caused by spam with regards to employee productivity, consumption of IT resources and help desk costs. Harder to measure are less obvious, and potentially catastrophic, costs incurred through legal liabilities and damage to an organization’s reputation that can be caused by an ineffective spam filtering technology.

Spam is much more than a nuisance—it costs corporations in both money and human resources. Understanding your exposure and taking steps to mitigate problem not only saves capital, it can also help lower your exposure to costly litigation and damage to your company’s well earned reputation.

Lost Productivity

Each spam message that makes its way past your organization’s gateway costs company money. The actual cost of each individual message is miniscule, but with an estimated 80% of all e-mail messages qualifying as spam, constant flood of unwanted messages is of grave concern.

How much time do employees spend dealing with spam, and how much does it cost you? Ferris Group estimates that average employee spends 30 minutes each day dealing with spam, equating to 115 hours per employee, per year. Based on interviews with 82 Fortune 500 companies, Nucleus Research claims average annual cost per employee of dealing with spam is now $1,934. While your costs will vary, it is safe to assume that if you don’t have an effective spam filter, you are wasting thousands of dollars per employee per year to manage spam.

IT Resources Consumed

The costs of spam don’t stop with employee. According to CIO Magazine, “costs include additional e-mail and networking equipment to maintain e-mail service quality, bandwidth costs from unwanted spam data across Internet links, and staff costs to maintain and administer these additional loads.”

Help Desk Cost