Chain letters greatest source of Aussie spam rage - News - Security

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Chain letters greatest source of Aussie spam rage

By Andrew Colley, 0
June 21, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Chain-letters-greatest-source-of-Aussie-spam-rage/0,130061744,120266143,00.htm

Chain letters generate more heat under the collars of e-mail users than other forms of spam, including e-mail pornography, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Western Sydney.

E-mail borne chain letters were top of the list of the five most irritating forms of unsolicited e-mail encountered by 529 individuals involved in the study, with 90 percent of respondents listing them as such. Seventy-seven percent if respondents listed pornography as one of the most irritating sources of spam.

According to Dr. Monica Whitty, humanities lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, chain letters are more aggravating than other forms of spam because often they come from people the recipient knows.

Charles Heunemann, managing director of e-mail filtering software developer SurfControl, which sponsored the survey, said far from softening the user's attitude to unsolicited e-mail, receiving spam from friends amplifies a recipient's ire. Heunemann identified hoaxes, false offers and e-mails that prey on the superstitious ('send-this-to-all-your-friends' or else) as the most likely reason for the high presence of chain letters in the top five list of most irritating spam messages.

From a security point of view, chain letters are "a complete disaster", Heunemann said.

"Some of them have over 1,000 e-mail addresses and are completely exposed," he said. "It's a really easy way for spammers to harvest more e-mail."

Whitty said the survey revealed that e-mail users are not always well informed as to what constitutes modern Net etiquette.

"People were not always aware about the company's policy as to what's appropriate with the Internet, and perhaps what one should use their e-mail for," Dr. Whitty said. "That suggested that companies either don't have a policy or it hasn't been made clear to workers."

According to Dr. Whitty, the survey was designed to assist debates about the introduction of legislation regarding e-mail surveillance.