CyberGuide
Spoiling Spam
FROM: MAY-JUN 2003 ISSUE | BY ROBIN DAY
How much of your time is spent dealing with unwanted direct-mail messages? The volume of these annoying messages, better known as spam, is growing faster than the mould on a two-week-old plate of — you guessed it — SPAM. These Web sites will help you to take a bite out of the mouldy spam in your inbox by helping you understand why you get it and how to stop it from coming to you.
http://cauce.ca/
At this site, the Canadian Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail provides access to some interesting information on the cost of spam and the extent of the Canadian legislation preventing it. Though not 100 per cent complete at the time of writing, this site has a lot to offer, including advice on what to do if you are being spammed, like how to complain to the spammer's Internet service provider.
http://spam.abuse.net/
This anti-spam Web site offers a clear definition of spam and plenty of tips on what to do about it, like never responding to it and how to filter it out of your e-mail box. Also included are dozens of links to Web sites and products designed to help out with things like reporting, tracing, blocking and generally reducing the volume of spam you receive on a daily basis.
http://www.privcom.gc.ca/legislation/index_e.asp
Those interested in the legalities of spam and relevant Canadian legislation may want to take a look at the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's Web site. This site will provide information on the Privacy Act, as well as Bill C6, the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act, currently being implemented.
http://www.spam.com/
On the lighter side, no information on spam would be complete without including the real McCoy. Yes, this is it, the one and only, official SPAM Web site, complete with recipes and a link to the SPAM museum in Austin, Minnesota.
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Robin Day, MBA, CGA, teaches financial management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is also president of Virtual Information Technologies Inc.E-mail rday@virtualit.ca.