Spamming is the use of messaging systems to send an unsolicited message (spam) to large numbers of recipients for the purpose of commercial advertising, for the purpose of non-commercial proselytizing, or for any prohibited purpose. While the most widely recognized form of spam is email spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, Web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, Internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions, social spam, spam mobile apps, television advertising and file sharing spam. It is named after Spam, a luncheon meat, by way of a Monty Python sketch about a restaurant that has Spam in almost every dish in which vikings annoyingly sing "Spam" repeatedly.
An open mail relay is a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server configured in such a way that it allows anyone on the Internet to send e-mail through it, not just mail destined to or originating from known users. This used to be the default configuration in many mail servers; indeed, it was the way the Internet was initially set up, but open mail relays have become unpopular because of their exploitation by spammers and worms. Many relays were closed, or were placed on blacklists by other servers.
The Spam Prevention Early Warning System (SPEWS) was an anonymous service which maintained a list of IP address ranges belonging to Internet service providers (ISPs) which host spammers and show little action to prevent their abuse of other networks' resources. It could be used by Internet sites as an additional source of information about the senders of unsolicited bulk email, better known as spam.
A Domain Name System-based Blackhole List, Domain Name System Blacklist (DNSBL) or Real-time Blackhole List (RBL) is a service whereby with a simple DNS query mail servers can check whether a sending IP address is on a blacklist of IP addresses reputed to send email spam. Most mail server software can be configured to check one or more of such lists - typically rejecting or flagging messages if it is from a listed site.
Apache SpamAssassin is a computer program used for e-mail spam filtering. It uses a variety of spam-detection techniques, including DNS and fuzzy checksum techniques, Bayesian filtering, external programs, blacklists and online databases. It is released under the Apache License 2.0 and is a part of the Apache Foundation since 2004.
In computer terminology, a honeypot is a computer security mechanism set to detect, deflect, or, in some manner, counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems. Generally, a honeypot consists of data that appears to be a legitimate part of the site and contains information or resources of value to attackers. It is actually isolated, monitored, and capable of blocking or analyzing the attackers. This is similar to police sting operations, colloquially known as "baiting" a suspect.
Various anti-spam techniques are used to prevent email spam.
Email spam, also referred to as junk email, is unsolicited messages sent in bulk by email (spamming).
A joe job is a spamming technique that sends out unsolicited e-mails using spoofed sender data. Early joe jobs aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the apparent sender or inducing the recipients to take action against them, but they are now typically used by commercial spammers to conceal the true origin of their messages and to trick recipients into opening emails apparently coming from a trusted source.
Disposable email addressing, also known as DEA or dark mail, refers to an approach which involves a unique email address being used for every contact, entity, or for a limited number of times or uses. The benefit is that if anyone compromises the address or utilizes it in connection with email abuse, the address owner can easily cancel it without affecting any of their other contacts.
Email harvesting or scraping is the process of obtaining lists of email addresses using various methods. Typically these are then used for bulk email or spam.
SpamCop is an email spam reporting service, allowing recipients of unsolicited bulk or commercial email to report IP addresses found by SpamCop's analysis to be senders of the spam to the abuse reporting addresses of those IP addresses. SpamCop uses these reports to compile a list of computers sending spam called the "SpamCop Blocking List" or "SpamCop Blacklist" (SCBL).
SORBS is a list of e-mail servers suspected of sending or relaying spam. It has been augmented with complementary lists that include various other classes of hosts, allowing for customized email rejection by its users.
.mail is a generic top-level domain proposed by The Spamhaus Project in 2004, but unapproved by ICANN. Its purpose is to enable responsible message recipients to reliably and efficiently identify and accept spam-free mailstreams.
Blue Frog was a freely-licensed anti-spam tool produced by Blue Security Inc. and operated as part of a community-based system which tried to persuade spammers to remove community members' addresses from their mailing lists by automating the complaint process for each user as spam is received. Blue Security maintained these addresses in a hashed form in a Do Not Intrude Registry, and spammers could use free tools to clean their lists. The tool was discontinued in 2006.
A feedback loop (FBL), sometimes called a complaint feedback loop, is an inter-organizational form of feedback by which a mailbox provider (MP) forwards the complaints originating from their users to the sender's organizations. MPs can receive users' complaints by placing report spam buttons on their webmail pages, or in their email client, or via help desks. The message sender's organization, often an email service provider, has to come to an agreement with each MP from which they want to collect users' complaints.
Since Internet users and system administrators have deployed a vast array of techniques to block, filter, or otherwise banish spam from users' mailboxes and almost all Internet service providers forbid the use of their services to send spam or to operate spam-support services, special techniques are employed to deliver spam emails. Both commercial firms and volunteers run subscriber services dedicated to blocking or filtering spam.
Spam reporting, more properly called fake reporting, is the activity of pinning abusive messages and report them to some kind of authority so that they can be dealt with. Reported messages can be email messages, blog comments, or any kind of spam.
People tend to be much less bothered by spam slipping through filters into their mail box, than having desired e-mail ("ham") blocked. Trying to balance false negatives vs false positives is critical for a successful anti-spam system. As servers are not able to block all spam there are some tools for individual users to help control over this balance.
RESTENA is the very high-speed network for the education and research community of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Operational since 1989 and connected to the global Internet in 1992, the network is today deployed and operated by the Restena Foundation (Restena). Set up in 2000, the Foundation brings together all types of research and teaching bodies and the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and the Ministry of Finance. The Foundation also coordinates Internet resources nationally. It operates the domain name registry for the .lu domain and participates actively in the Internet exchange point LU-CIX.
