What is "spam"?

What is "spam"?

Hacker X (Computer Security Expert) gives expert video advice on: Should I use the "unsubscribe" link on spam?; What is spam filtering software and could it solve my spam problem? and more...

Spam is unsolicited email. Basically, it's email that is sent to you by a company, service, or marketer, who's got your name off of some kind of list. Maybe you bought Pampers online and they got your email address; you're part of a list and that's sold to a company. So, spam is unsolicited, unwanted email that fills all of our mailboxes and is a real problem. Spam is not inherently bad, other than it takes up a lot of our time and a lot of our resources. When you look at the percentage of email that high-volume email users get, a huge percentage of it is spam. So, while it's not harmful, it's certainly not an effective use of one's time, it's not an effective use of bandwidth, and it's not an effective use of storage. It's unwanted material. It's much like the stuff that fills your mailbox. It's just wasteful. You don't want, you don't need it, and you didn't ask for it.