Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:-
Spam is the flooding of the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Spam is basically electronic junk mail or junk news group postings. It is sometimes confused with any unsolicited e-mail. But an old friend may also find your e-mail address on the Net and send you a message but this could hardly be called spam, even though it is unsolicited. Real spam is generally e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or news group. In addition to wasting people’s time with unwanted e-mail, spam also eats up a lot of Network bandwidth. There are many organizations and individuals who have taken it upon themselves to fight spam with a variety of techniques. The problem is that because the internet is public, there is really little that can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. One of the most recent examples of large-scale spamming was the hoax Ericsson e-mail about a free give away, something most people just cannot resist. The letter begins with a claim that since Nokia is giving away telephones, Ericsson will respond by giving away brand new Wapphones. But the recipient must forward the letter to a minimum of 20 people to receive the phone. The letter is signed off Anna Swelund, Executive Promotion manager forEricsson Marketing. It was later discovered that there was no such person at Ericsson. There are numerous instances of these e-mails being used maliciously by someone who has a grudge against an ex-spouse, a public official, a former teacher or someone else with an e-mail address. The person mentioned in the e-mail ends up with thousands of requests from people looking for confirmation that the e-mail – which they actually had nothing to do with – is true. Spamming works on our own greed to receive freebies. You are instructed by a total stranger (or a well meaning but not very bright friend) to forward a message you know nothing about, except for the fact that may be a friend passed it along to you and about 90 of their other very close friends.Very often the victim can receive so much e-mail (and sometimes faxes and phone calls in the more malicious cases) that they have to get a new e-mail box or phone number –Thereby ruining established personal and professional communication channels, which was the original intent of the sender.
a) whether the following statements are True or False. Write ‘T’ for True and ‘F’ for False. (You need not write the sentences, write only numbers)
i) Spam is a means to force message on people who don’t intend to receive.
Answer –True
ii) There are variety of techniques used by individuals or organizations to fight spam.
Answer –True
iii) E-mails can scarcely be used to express grudge against another person.
Answer – True
iv) Ericsson claimed to give away brand new Wapphones.
Answer –False
b) Answer each of the following questions in about 30 words:-
a) What is Spam ?
Answer –Spam is flooding of copies of same messages on the internet, forcefully sent to the receiver. They are basically electronic junk mail or junk news advertising some product. They eat up lots of network bandwidth as well as waste people’s time.
b) What is Ericsson — E-mail?
Answer – Ericsson e-mail is a hoax. It was advertising that they are giving up free Wapphones to compete with nokia. But it was a false news, later found out that the letter they were giving signed by Anna Swelund is also false. No one named that doesn’t work for Ericsson.
c) What might be the intention of the sender of the spam?
Answer – Sender of spam has various intention. Sometimes it is used by people intentionally to harass someone they have grudge against. Spams wastes time and eats a lot of Network bandwidth, so sometime someone could so many spams mail or messages that they have to get a new mail or number. Another reason for spreading spam is our own greed to get free items.