ABSTRACT
This type of e-mail is called “spam,” which refers to the sending of mass unsolicited messages — junk e-mail — over the Internet. Spamming includes posting promotional messages to large numbers of Usenet newsgroups. For many Internet users, unsolicited e-mail advertising is merely an annoyance, but because many companies and organizations connect to the Internet, e-mail spam also becomes a financial and productivity issue, especially as most bulk e-mailers sign users onto their lists without permission and make virtually no effort to target their lists. It is not uncommon for spam lists to reach into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of e-mail addresses.
