E-mail and Behavioral Changes

9Exposure to Spam and Protection Strategies

In the previous chapters we have analyzed and described typical profiles of electronic mail users in their roles as editors and spam generators. Nevertheless, two questions should be clarified at this stage.

The first question relates to spam protection techniques implemented by individuals and organizations. For example, how do individuals protect themselves against friendly spam when the boundary between professional life and personal life gets blurred little by little? What tools, training and guidelines do companies implement in order to protect their collaborators?

The second question relates to spam exposure, both at the company and individual level. To put it differently, are we equal in the face of spam? Recent events have shown that the renowned can expose companies to hackers’ attacks. How does this affect individuals? What behaviors facilitate spam exposure or, on the contrary, protect individuals against exposure?

These are the two themes of this chapter.

9.1. Risk behaviors

Generally speaking, when asked about the reasons why they receive spam, electronic mail users seem puzzled. In fact, many of them wonder how such messages could have reached their inbox, how senders obtained their e-mail address, etc. Experience shows that many individuals ignore the fact that their e-mail addresses are widely disseminated on the web.

We consider that individuals’ exposure to spam varies depending on their presence on the networks, ...