By the analog of spam in "non-internet" world are the paper advertising leaflets, which daily are placed into the mailboxes of citizens and substantially complicate the functioning of messaging system. Net to spam causes serious headache to private individuals and the losses of entire IT- industry. In the Continental Alliance and THE USA the distribution of similar communications is pursued according to the law - were accepted the corresponding reports. One of the largest American Internet providers America Online (AOL) each month advances on several judicial it is claim to spamers, which are occupied by the systematic distribution of advertisement in the addresses of its clients.

Why the flow of spam grows

A swift increase in the volumes of spam is explained very easily: the distribution of the unsolicited communications of commercial nature is cheapest, although the least "precise" form of advertisement. The cheapness of mass distributions depends on two reasons. First, the Internet - this is very the inexpensive transmission medium of data. With the contemporary Russian price for the net traffic (information flow, passing through the communication channel or which falls to the Web- knot) the cost of the transfer of one electronic communication comprises the hundredths of cent, and if we produce distribution from THE USA, then its prime cost will be still less. In the second place, spamers widely use for the delivery of their communications the strange resources (computational and transport power, to which it is obtained illegal access), which even more reduces the prime cost of distribution.

In some sense the cheapness of the not wanted advertisement appears owing to the practically complete neglect of the rights of citizens, by the interests of messaging systems and IT- industry. Advertising leaflets and to spam reach the user around the advertising market, which has its system of the filtration of communications, and drive in the mailboxes of users - both real and electronic. Like paper leaflets, to spam it is used, first of all, for the propagation of business data; however, the electronic advertisements are often also the carriers of viruses and other harmful programs. The greater the volume of spam, the less the vigilance of users and the higher probability that as a result of infection by viruses the work of computers will be disrupted.

Popular spamers themes

Recently appeared many spamers distributions, which propose also construction, bookkeeping and everyday services. It is evident from this that by the basic customer of spam appears small business.

Effectiveness of spam

Spam - sufficiently effective form of advertisement, despite the fact that it is unethical and dangerous for the reputation of sponsor and in many countries simply of unlawful. Here it is possible to give analogy sexploitation - by use of the exposed nature in the printed advertisement and the advertising rollers. This is improper and it is detrimental for the reputation, but purely technically it is very effective with the trade in "man" goods and generally it is convenient with the spin up practically of what.

Thus, the reasons for the effectiveness of spam are such:

it is very cheap ($0,1 for thousands of demonstrations);

high response (to 1-3%);

the absence of regulation, the presence of shadow economy;

the threshold of entry for the market is very low.

Who spamers is?

Spamers are very heterogeneous by their composition. The market for spam services is divided into different categories, among them it is possible to isolate, as a minimum, three basic:

5-7 important spammers companies;

20-50 small companies and individual professionals;

hundreds of nonprofessionals (most frequently students).

Infrastructure of the professional market

On the average professional spams - these are the technically competent, active, moderately unprincipled, relatively provided for young people. In Russia of them thousand are counted. Today the market for professional spam services has already been divided into layers and consists of the following components:

sponsors;

advertising agencies;

the suppliers of software, bases of data and IP- addresses;

the service of distribution;

the recipients of advertisement.

IP- address - address, which unambiguously determines computer in the network (on protocol IPv4 address it consists of 32 bits and it cannot be repeated in the entire network TCP/IP). Usually it is divided into four octets on eight bits (one byte); each octet is converted into the decimal number and is pointed off, for example 100.101.199.255.

Hosting - provider of services with respect to the assignment of Internet- server and the guarantee of his twenty-four hour fitness for work.

Suppliers of software. This those, who produce programs for spamers: program for the collection of addresses Web- it is main and forums ("net spiders"), program for the mass rapid distribution, the program for checking of existence and fitness for work of addresses and so on.

Suppliers of the data bases. This form of players attends the needs of the services of distribution and assembles for them the post addresses, which are united into the bases of addresses. They use new software, which knows how to gather addresses in the Internet, to check their fitness for work, to place into the data base. The diverse methods here adapt: from the theft of addresses in provider (through the sent agents) to the selection of addresses (with the aid of different heuristic algorithms and the so-called "lexical attacks").

Services of distribution. This, strictly speaking, and there are spamers, i.e., those, who send to spam. Their number includes the companies or the simply organized groups of the qualified people, in the past (but now and then also in the present) which are been programmers. Such services have sufficiently perfect software, which knows how to send large quantities of letters per unit time (to 100 letters per second) and after this to disguise the source of distribution. They propose distribution on millions of addresses and taken for it relatively small money.

Mixed types. Often these three types of spamerd are united, are mixed up or generally come out in one person.

Amateurish (nonprofessional) spamers. Nonprofessional spamers can be divided into two classes:

"honest" spamers. The colleagues of the divisions of marketing of the law-abiding companies, which suddenly revealed for themselves the fantastic possibilities of advertisement on the electronic mail, are most frequently them: it is possible to write whom you want, but distribution nothing costs. As a rule, such spamers take addresses simply Web- it is main, they honestly indicate all their coordinates (the return address, as a rule, it is presently) and so on. However, provider rapidly notes distribution and is disconnected spamer. Electronic mail ceases to work, and for companies it is necessary for long to negotiate with the provider so that it again would be included. Here it is possible to assume that after the first failure this colleague will cease to send the advertising. But it can be and vice versa: colleague can turn to professional spamers and become their client.

Beginners. The representatives of this class of spamers attempt to organize their business of distribution "on the knee", using technical unfit equipment - it is bought the card of provider, distribution it is achieved through the modem and so forth. The letters extended similarly do not comprise considerable proportion in spam because of the presence of too large a number of problems (action of card rapidly it concludes, the speed of distribution is very small, the base of addresses it became obsolete, provider it can note distribution and shut the stock-taking record (account) and so on). Beginners usually not very well disguise the source of the distributions, extended by them letter they can contain viruses and so forth.

Thus, it is possible to make the conclusion that the distribution of spam is the prevailing, powerful and profitable industry with its infrastructure - by operating companies, client base and so on.