Reports (see OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department) show that around half of all email messages received is spam. Spam is defined as unsolicited commercial email, usually manifesting itself as emails sent to users which relate to products or services in which they have no interest, sent by companies or organisations with which they have had no previous contact. Once regarded as little more than a nuisance, dealing with spam now takes up considerable resources and time for everyone who uses email, and has lead to some crises of confidence from email users who see the medium of email as being dominated by unwanted messages.

In our series of articles examining spam, its (mis)use, and the various ways in which you can defend against it, we hope to provide you with some useful tips that will help your business or prevent your home computer being swamped with spam.