Learn what spam is, how it works, and what you can do to stop it.

Spam is Internet slang for unsolicited email, primarily unsolicited commercial email (UCE). The use of the term "spam" (a trademarked Hormel meat product) is supposedly derived from a Monty Python sketch in which Spam is included in every dish offered at a restaurant.

Recipients of spam often consider it an unwanted intrusion in their mailbox. Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as America Online, consider spam to be a financial drain and an impediment to Internet access because it can clog an ISP's available bandwidth. Spam has also been linked with fraudulent business schemes, chain letters, and offensive sexual and political messages.

Not all bulk email is spam. Some is permission-based, meaning that the recipient has asked to receive it. This occurs when a user at a website voluntarily agrees -- for example, at the time of making a purchase -- to receive a newsletter or other email (known as "opt-in email"). Unlike spam, opt-in email usually provides a benefit such as free information or sale prices. Sending unsolicited email to online customers who have not elected to receive information is considered spam.

Since most legitimate businesses recognize the public's strong anti-spam sentiment, they avoid using it.

How do spammers find you? Sometimes they may buy your address -- 15 million email addresses can be purchased for as little as $129 -- or they obtain them by using software programs known as "harvesters" that pluck names from websites, newsgroups, or other services in which users identify themselves by email address.