With the increasing use of devices like computers and mobiles we are getting acquainted with many new words.
If you use the Internet through this mobile or computer or you have an email account of your own, then you must have heard the word spam.
If you have heard this word before, the question that may arise in your mind is, what is spam?
So keep reading this post because today, we will give you the meaning of spam and all the information related to this term. Let us get started.
What Does Spam Mean?
Spam is an English word that is primarily associated with technology. It has no special meaning in Bengali.
However, if it has to be said in simple Bengali with what it has in English, it means “unsolicited emails or irrelevant messages sent on the internet.” (Unsolicited Email or Irrelevant Messages sent on the Internet)
Spam means “irrelevant or unwanted messages sent over the Internet.”
What Is Spam?
Once you know the meaning of spam, you must have understood something about it. Let us know the details about it now.
The term spam was first used to refer to unsolicited or irrelevant, or anonymous emails arriving on the Internet.
Initially, spam emails were sent only for advertising, but later they were used for many other purposes, including fraud.
The unique thing about spam emails is that they are always sent in bulk, and these are the emails to which the recipients of these emails do not even know where they came from.
Sending this spam email is called spamming.
Not only is spamming done via email, but it is also now being done in various ways, such as on WhatsApp Messenger, in blog comment boxes, on social media sites (such as Twitter and Facebook), and then on any forum website.
Not only this, by creating fake accounts or sharing false links, commenting on social media sites is also under spamming.
Where And How Is Spamming?
Spamming can occur in various ways, such as if you talk about Messenger (such as Facebook Messenger) or use WhatsApp, you will see spam messages that are spread in the form of advertisements or the form of fake news.
This spamming on social media is no different. People create fake accounts and send many spam comments and messages on popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
However, email spam is the most common. However, most email companies now have anti-spam programs, which often automatically mark spam messages and put those emails marked as stamps in your email account’s spam folder.
However, spammers often create their emails so that even anti-spam programs cannot identify them and show spam in your inbox.
In most cases, spammers send spam emails in the name of a known company so that you believe them, and you become a victim of their spam and click on the malicious links in that email.
The Main Type Of Spam
As I said before, spamming is done in many ways. So nowadays, the word spam is heard in social media sites, messengers, blogs, forums, and many other places besides email.
To learn more about spamming and to avoid spam, we need to know the types of spam. However, let us find out about its types of shots.
- Bulk Messaging | Bulk Messaging
Bulk messaging is the most critical type of spam. Such bulk messages are sent to millions of people around the world every day.
These types of spam messages are primarily used for advertising. The primary purpose of the spammer is to sell you something. Bulk messaging is sometimes used to spread malware.
- Click baiting | Clickbetting
Clickbiting means provoking the user to click on your post or a link by writing an exciting title.
ClickBetting is seen on all the platforms where most of the content is shared, such as photos, videos, or articles.
This type of spam is also done through email, where the spammer user is attracted to click on any link in the email.
- Sending Malicious Links | Sending Malicious Links
There is no shortage of spammers spreading malicious links. In this case, the primary purpose of spammers is to spread the virus on your device.
So they can steal data from your device; this spamming is mainly done through comments, forum posts, and emails.
In this type of spam message, a link is provided so that the spammer tries to fool you into clicking on the link.
If you click on that link, malware enters your device, or the device is more likely to be hacked.
- Sharing Undesired Content. Sharing Unnecessary Or Prohibited Content
By creating a fake account, unwanted content is often shared on forum websites, social media sites, or in the comments of any blog.
It can be an insult, threat, or advertisement. This type of content is sometimes used for its benefit and sometimes to degrade the quality of your posts.
This type of spam is more common in the comment boxes of posts of influential people on social media.
- Providing Fraud Reviews. Provide Incorrect Reviews Or Explanations
Mistakes are also a part of spam. This type of spam is especially seen in the comment box of blog posts or on social media.
Not only that, many times, e-commerce sites spam to increase product reviews of various things.
How To Avoid Spam
If certain things are kept in mind, spam can be avoided. Let us look at these issues in detail.
- When creating an email address, keep in mind that the address is a little different. This dramatically reduces the chances of receiving spam emails.
- Do not use your email address on any blog or forum website where people spam.
- Do not click on links in any unsolicited emails or social media comments. This can increase the risk of your device being infected with a virus.
- Spammers need to know your email address before you can spam. If they do not know your email address, they will not send you spam emails. So please keep your email address as secret as possible and use it only for work purposes.
- Do not use your email address when posting anything on any website or forum.
- Never use your work email address when signing up for forums, offers, and other public services.
- Do not click on unsubscribe links in any irrelevant email. This can be a trick for spammers, and it will prove your email address, and then they will start sending you more spam emails.
- Instead of deleting spam emails, report them to your email service provider. This will allow anti-spam programs to detect such emails in the future.
I hope you understand what spam is.