The Next Generation: Photo Spam
Spam used to appease the senses, specifically the gustatory one. It was a treat for us kids when we’d get spam for breakfast. The aroma and the taste really had us going in the morning commute to school. Now, Spam is something that needs to be crushed like the cockroach that it is. At least cockroaches do something for the world, the other just makes the inboxes full to the brim with useless information.
There are now programs out there that limits the spam’s clutches. We can finally see the end of our inboxes again. Yet, like a bad movie, there seems to be a twist to this whole story. Remember those movies where in the end the villain seems to have been defeated but somehow you get a feeling this guy’s not yet out for the count, example:all ‘Friday the 13th’ movies. Well, it looks like spam is doing a Jason as well. Photo Spam. It’s here and it lives inside your inbox. The moment you open it, you never know what will happen.
According to a leading anti-virus software lab AV-Test in Germany, one third of spam today is image-based. It’s where text is included in an image. Most spam filters today look out for text spams only. That can only mean only two things: you have less text spam, but a lot of photo spam.
So what can the emailers who just want to send their vacation pictures to their parents, not land in the spam folders do? Write information relative to the picture in the email. Most photo spams have just pictures in them, no text.
The receivers have more chances of filtering spam if they use online e-mail services, rather than buying a filtering software. Cheaper too. A cautionary advice: one must have at least one alias address. The “real” e-mail address should be reserved for family, friends, and known acquaintances.
Spam used to appease the senses, specifically the gustatory one. It was a treat for us kids when we’d get spam for breakfast. The aroma and the taste really had us going in the morning commute to school. Now, Spam is something that needs to be crushed like the cockroach that it is. At least cockroaches do something for the world, the other just makes the inboxes full to the brim with useless information.
There are now programs out there that limits the spam’s clutches. We can finally see the end of our inboxes again. Yet, like a bad movie, there seems to be a twist to this whole story. Remember those movies where in the end the villain seems to have been defeated but somehow you get a feeling this guy’s not yet out for the count, example:all ‘Friday the 13th’ movies. Well, it looks like spam is doing a Jason as well. Photo Spam. It’s here and it lives inside your inbox. The moment you open it, you never know what will happen.
According to a leading anti-virus software lab AV-Test in Germany, one third of spam today is image-based. It’s where text is included in an image. Most spam filters today look out for text spams only. That can only mean only two things: you have less text spam, but a lot of photo spam.
So what can the emailers who just want to send their vacation pictures to their parents, not land in the spam folders do? Write information relative to the picture in the email. Most photo spams have just pictures in them, no text.
The receivers have more chances of filtering spam if they use online e-mail services, rather than buying a filtering software. Cheaper too. A cautionary advice: one must have at least one alias address. The “real” e-mail address should be reserved for family, friends, and known acquaintances.
About The Author
