Before we dive in, let me start with some quick background to level-set. The first internet spam message was sent way back in 1978 – can you believe that? I bet you‘ll be surprised when I tell you the full story!
Here‘s an overview of what I‘ll cover:
- What ARPANET was and why it mattered
- The context around Gary Thurek sending the infamous spam
- When the actual term "spam" emerged to describe this junk content
- Common types of spam circulating today
- Stats on the shocking volume of spam created annually
- Tips to equip you to fight back against spam
So buckle up! You‘re about to get an insightful beginner‘s guide to the dawn of internet spam.
ARPANET – the precursor to today‘s web
Before the internet went mainstream in the 90s, there was a smaller academic network called ARPANET that emerged in 1969. ARPANET stood for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. It linked major universities across the US so researchers could access computing resources at other institutions.
The table below shows how many organizations connected to ARPANET each year as adoption grew:
| Year | Connected Organizations |
|---|---|
| 1969 | 4 |
| 1971 | 15 |
| 1972 | 37 |
| 1977 | 111 |
Email capabilities got layered on shortly after ARPANET‘s inception. While early incarnations were crude by today‘s standards, academics and researchers quickly grew dependent on this revolutionary new ability to electronically transmit messages and share data across great distances.
As you can see, the stage was set by the late 70s for information – and disinformation – to start spreading widely through this trusted channel.
Meet Gary Thurek – the father of spam
Against this backdrop, Gary Thurek worked as a sales manager at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). DEC sold expensive mainframe computers to businesses and institutions for data processing. ARPANET naturally represented an attractive set of prospective customers.
In 1978, DEC launched its new DECSYSTEM-20 mainframe. An opportunist at heart, Thurek seized this chance. He scraped together a mailing list of ARPANET member addresses totaling about 400 people. Then on May 3, 1978, Thurek dispatched a glowing promotional message talking up his company‘s shiny new gear.
His intention was straightbrand awareness and lead generation. However, recipients saw this intrusion rather differently. They resented this unsolicited distraction clogging up their precious bandwidth. Nonetheless, the spam genie was out the bottle!
Why the term "spam" stuck for unwanted content
While Thurek kickstarted the scourge in 1978, the "spam" label itself wouldn‘t gain traction until early internet chat channels dealt with disruptive jokesters and pranksters in the 90s. Apparently there was one particularly annoying trickster named Richard Depew who kept wrecking discussions with silly and repetitive disruptions.
Exasperated users likened his antics to a famous 1970 Monty Python comedy sketch. In it, a cafe serves Spam meat in dish after dish while a group of Vikings loudly sings "Spam, Spam, Spam" over and over, drowning out all other sounds. Participants felt flooded by Depew‘s drivel just like the relentless Spam chorus overwhelmed conversation in the skit. Hence when they branded his behavior as "spamming," the rest was history!
Spam mutates into a big ugly monster
In the 1980s and 90s, broader adoption of personal computers and dial-up internet access enabled spammers‘ operations to scale rapidly. Sending spam email was cheap, easy and profitable. Scammers leveraged spam relentlessly to propagate all kinds of frauds and questionable offers trying to dupe financial data out of consumers.
As the web matured, the unscrupulous evolved their techniques to detailed phishing schemes, compromised zombie networks delivering billions of infected messages, stealthy malware planting viruses, and more. Talk about adaptation! As a result, the volume of spam polluting the internet today is staggering. Check out these scale indicators:
| Metric | Volume |
|---|---|
| Global spam messages daily | 293 billion |
| Portion of email that is spam | 55% |
| Spam filters stopping junk | 99% |
| Spam getting through | 2-3 per inbox daily |
Crazy right? Now let‘s explore today‘s most dangerous types of spam cropping up.
Top spam varieties that should raise red flags
Phishing
This highly deceptive spam imitates trusted brands via email, text, calls and sites to fool you into revealing valuable personal data. Watch for slight misspellings and odd URLs. Links often lead to convincingly fake login pages trapping credentials.
Malware distribution
Spam messages or attachments peddle malicious software and viruses to hijack devices. Once installed, it raid data and controls. Some ransomware even locks down access entirely unless large bitcoin payments are made. Links and attachments are red flags for infection vectors.
Financial fraud
Get-rich promises, fake charities, foreign money transfer scams, and bogus business opportunities aim to slowly manipulate you out of money. Warning signs include big payouts for small upfront "good faith" payments.
Illicit product pitches
Watch for spam illegally hawking prescription meds, diet scams, and adult services. Rogue offshore pharmacies push unvetted, dangerous pills. Quick weight loss blarney hides dangerous starvation diets. And adult content links can harbor illegal material baiting blackmail traps.
Spoofed accounts
Watch for spam imitating contacts or brands via social media, email and texts. They leverage familiarity to get victims to make payments, share data or click infected links. But URLs, terminology and context often seem "off."
Help! How do I squash this spam scourge?
Now that you know more about spam than 99% of people, here are tips to avoid and combat it:
🔑 Watch for red flags like sketch links/attachments from unfamiliar senders
🔒 Beef up login security with two-factor authentication
🛡 Install comprehensive anti-malware tools and keep them updated
🚮 Delete or report spam without interacting to train filters
The more we wise up and collaborate to flag spam, the smarter our defenses become! I‘m hopeful we‘ll get this messy problem contained one day soon through vigilance and teamwork.
So in closing my friend, I appreciate you taking this spam history cruise with me! Let me know if you have any other topics you want me to tackle. Stay curious and stay safe out there!
