Generally refers to unwanted, electronically transmitted information. Spam appears in various forms and is primarily known in connection with e-mails. However, it can also appear as advertising banners, pop-ups or advertising posts in Internet forums. What all forms have in common is that they are perceived as annoying. They can also contain links to fraudulent websites and, in the case of spam emails, attachments with malware.
Thus, “spam” became the epitome of pointless, annoying, repetitive information. The range of spam emails is astonishing. This includes unsolicited advertising as well as fake phishing emails from your bank that are intended to lead you to a fraudulent website. At best, spam emails only cost you and your employees the time you need to sift through and delete them.
Electronic spam owes its name to a sketch. Spam was (and is) also the name of a canned meat. During the Second World War, this canned meat was the only food in the British army that was not rationed. Spam was therefore plentiful and many soldiers were soon fed up with it.
The sketch “Spam” by British comedians Monty Python, which was broadcast on BBC TV in 1970, is understandable on this basis. It is about a café whose menu contains only dishes with spam. Accordingly, the word spam is constantly repeated in the operator’s food recommendations. The word spam is even omnipresent in the end credits of the episode.
You recently filled out an online form to receive a free PDF. Everything had to be done very quickly, there was no time to check the terms and conditions carefully.
The working day begins and you check your emails. Your inbox is overflowing with messages that you didn’t expect and don’t want to receive. You delete the advertising emails, which advertise items such as dust mats, parasols, health insurance rates and car repair pens, so that you can identify the work-related messages one by one.
