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A
spam zombie is a computer that has been illegally accessed
by a spammer and used as a medium to send spam. This is
done without the consent or even the knowledge of the
PC owner, and can cause many problems for the victims
of this scheme.
Spammers depend on spam zombies to enable them to achieve
anonymity and avoid detection, and the spam zombie often
bears the brunt of the responsibility for the spam. This
could lead to dire consequences, such as losing one's
internet service and being blacklisted and prevented from
sending e-mails to certain people.
Becoming
a spam zombie can be a devastating experience, especially
for a small business owner, whose company can suffer from
an undeserved, negative reputation as the result of having
been targeted. Those who are used as spam zombies for
pornography can be quite humiliated by the experience,
to say the least, especially since the spammers send the
e-mails to those in their address books, and it appears
as if they themselves are sending the message.
Spammers
can turn any PC into a spam zombie through sophisticated
technology that derives information from a computer. This
is the reason every computer must be equipped with ant-virus
anti-spyware as well as spam protection.
PC
users can attract "dust" from surfing the net,
which will give spammers a clue as to his or her information.
Hackers can get into unprotected PCs easily and are willing
to sell their information to spammers at a good price.
If your guard is down, your PC could be affected and one
your PC is a spam zombie, you could be involved in someone
else's spam activities.
If
you suspect that you have been made a spam zombie, contact
your provider immediately. There are ways to negotiate
your way out of blacklists if you have suffered unfair
consequences of having been used as a spam zombie.
This
process can take some time to fix, but by discussing the
situation with your provider, you may be able to clear
your name. Since the phenomenon of becoming a spam zombie
is so common, providers are knowledgeable in dealing with
this issue and clearing up problems that result from it.
However, if you are a spam zombie, you can't expect to
recover your freedom overnight.
The
most important thing to do to avoid becoming a spam zombie
is to protect your computer. Make sure that your security
is airtight and that no one can access your information.
You
will also want to invest in high quality spam blockers
and filters, and even to obtain a whitelist that does
not allow those who are not registered to enter your inbox.
Since the spam zombie is becoming a common feature of
online life, more people are opting for stricter spam
blockers, even if this means losing some of the spontaneity
in receiving e-mails.
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