Spam (more properly called Unsolicited Commercial E-mail) is the Internet version of junk mail. It is an attempt to deliver a message over the Internet to someone who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Almost all spam is commercial advertising. Spammers create their mailing lists by scanning newsgroup posts, stealing Internet mailing lists, searching directory services, or searching the Web for addresses.
Spamming is essentially free for the spammer. The recipients pay for delivery and storage of the spam. Even if a very small percentage of people respond to the spam, it makes it a very effective practice for the spammer.
Spam Blacklists
There are various organizations on the Internet that attempt to fight spam (e.g., SpamCop). They provide "blacklists" of known spam sources, complain to ISPs and network providers, file lawsuits against the most egregious spammers, etc.
IT uses several blacklists to block incoming spam. Blacklists are not as effective as one would hope because spammers never stay in one place for very long, so by the time their server is blacklisted they have moved on to another one. Another problem with blacklists is that sometimes innocent users of blacklisted servers get blocked along with the spammers. For more information about spam blocking at the University of Calgary, see IT's Spam Blocking page.
What should you do with the spam you receive?
Do not bother trying to unsubscribe from spam lists because that is rarely effective. Do not bother complaining to the sender because the return address is usually faked. Delete it and move on.
{Spam?} tagged messages can be filtered out of your INBOX to a spam-mail folder by enabling the Spam Filter Utility or using the filtering capabilities of your mail program.
If you want to help the world-wide spam fighting effort, take a moment or two and forward as an attachment any spam messages you receive to spam@ucalgary.ca. We can then add it to the pool of spam samples used by external spam-fighting organizations to build their blacklists.
The University of Calgary's Computing Policy prohibits U of C users from spamming others. If you receive spam that originated at the University of Calgary, please report it to abuse@ucalgary.ca.