Spam, or junk mail is defined as identical, disruptive e-emails sent to a large amount of e-mail or cellphone users. When a receiver clicks on one of the links in the message, he/she is diverted to a phishing website or websites containing malware. Spam e-mails can also contain hidden malware scripts. 
The opposite of spam is, believe it or not, ham. In other words e-mails you WANT to receive.
The origin of the meaning of spam in this context, can be laid at the feet of the obscure British comedians known as Monty Python. In a 1970 sketch a group of Vikings in a restaurant starts chanting the word “spam” so incessantly that no-one else can have a conversation. Click here if you’d like to see the original Monty Python sketch where the word “spam” is mentioned 132 keer times in a mere three and a half minutes.
Even Google is amused by die word. The company once hid a surprise in their gmail users’ spam folder. When you clicked on your Spam folder, a webclip containing a variety of recipes for the original variety of spam. Amongst others recipes for “Spam Primavera”, “Spam Swiss Pie”, “Creamy Spam Broccoli Casserole” and “Spam Veggie Pita Pockets”. The first spam was sent on 3 May 1978 to advertise a new computer system. It was sent to 600 ARPANET users and all 600 names were typed in by hand from a printed document. You can read the original e-mail here.
It is estimated that, from August 2010, 200 billion spam messages are sent per day. Lucky for Stellenbosch campus users, we have a fairly strict spam filer and huge amounts of spam bypass your inbox every day. If you still receive unnecessary spam, there are ways to decrease it even more. If it makes you feel any better though – according to Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates receives four million e-mails a year and most of it’s spam.
SOURCES: http://blog.emailaddressmanager.com, http://mashable.com & www.wikipedia.org
