Where Spam Comes From

© 2002 Lawrence I. Charters (writing as Washington Apple Pi Labs)

Washington Apple Pi Journal, Vol. 24, no. 5, September-October 2002, pp. 39.

If you have an E-mail account, you have re­ceived spam. “Spam” is the general term given to unsolicited electronic mail – mail that appears in your electronic mailbox simply because the mailbox exists. In this respect, it is similar to junk mail that ap- pears in your postal mailbox, with one big difference: postal junk mail requires that the sender pay for post­age, and identify who sent the mail. Spam, in contrast, costs the recipient money (since you must pay to have an E-mail box, and frequently have to pay extra if your E-mail volume exceeds a certain amount).

2002 is rapidly becoming the Year of Spam, as un­solicited electronic mail has exploded. A lack of laws governing Spam has encouraged explosive growth in the use of E-mail for fraud and other scams Several Internet worms and viruses that target, specifically, Microsoft Win­dows E-mail sys­tems and E-mail clients have created periodic floods of Spam. This latter phenomenon is sig­nificant since it is now possible to get random E-mail messages simply because someone, somewhere, added your address to their electronic mail directory. The person adding your listing didn’t want to send you E-mail, and you didn’t want to receive it, but the Internet worm found your address and mailed copies of itself to countless others. Adding in­sult to injury, the Internet worm credited these E-mail messages to you.

In response to this deluge, some people have set up a Web site, Clueless Mailers, dedicated to the “irre­sponsible bozos who need education.” The Web site (http://www.cluelessmai1ers.org/) contains a wealth of information (and opinion) on Spam, including ar­ticles, a glossary, a blacklist of domains known for pro­ducing Spam, and other material. Their most famous contribution, however, is the Sparndemic Map, a mas­sive chart that shows how various domains are interlinked to spread Spam, share lists of addresses, and otherwise promote unsolicited E-mail. A portion of that chart is shown below, with their permission.

A portion of the highly-detailed Spamdemic Map, showing how various domains (including those offering drawing prizes, "free" services and other marketing ploys) have collected and shared E-mail addresses, and in turn sent out a flood of unsolicited e-mail. You can purchase a 35-inch by 23-inch copy of the poster via their Web site, or download a GIF or EPS image. Click on the image for a closer look.
A portion of the highly-detailed Spamdemic Map, showing how various domains (including those offering drawing prizes, “free” services and other marketing ploys) have collected and shared E-mail addresses, and in turn sent out a flood of unsolicited e-mail. You can purchase a 35-inch by 23-inch copy of the poster via their Web site, or download a GIF or EPS image. Click on the image for a closer look.