CS 312 Group C
Spam Survey Report
Our survey aimed to gather information on: How spam affects
internet users? How much is known about it? What factors cause some to get more
than others? Are people trying
to stop it? What they think should be
done about it? People were surveyed in person, over the phone, and by email.
We surveyed about the same number of males and females (21
to 19). The majority of people, 23 out of 40, were in the 18-22 age group. Six
people were below 18, one person was in the
33-37 age group, and seven were over 37. So the survey was skewed towards
younger age groups and there was a gap between ages 22 and 33, but getting
similar numbers for each age group was not a requirement for this survey.
Everyone chose Windows as their operating system, which is
no surprise. When we asked people if their
field of employment and/or education involves computers, 27.5% (11) said
extensive knowledge, 42.5% (17) said they need only basic knowledge, and 30% (12)
chose very little or not at all.
When asked how much they know
about spam, six said they know barely anything,
15 said a little, 17 said they know enough, and only two consider themselves
experts on spam. Not surprisingly, all the people who stated that they require
extensive knowledge of computers also know enough about spam or are experts.
As expected Yahoo, AOL, and
Hotmail came out to be the top used email providers. The majority of people get
ten or less spam emails a week, which is bearable. However, 11 (27.5%) get more
than 20, which is a lot. Unexpectedly, there
is no correlation between email providers and the amount of spam received. We
cant tell from the survey what providers are more or less prone to spam when
compared to others. This might mean that the quantity of spam one receives does
not depend so much on email providers, but rather on how much an email address is
available to spammers.
Furthermore, spam knowledge does not help with the amount
of spam one gets as six people who said they know enough about spam still
receive more than 20 spam emails per week. Females receive slightly more spam
on average, but for this survey of 40 people, this difference is negligible. Age
is also not a factor since those 22 and under receive virtually the same amount
of spam on average as those who are 33 or older.
As far as other types of spam go, just as predicted, pop-up
spam is prominent, with most (30) choosing pop-ups as the second most
encountered type of spam. Seven dont get other spam besides email, which
suggests that either they dont browse the internet a lot or have good pop-up
blockers.
Instant messenger spam, although said to be increasing
rapidly, showed to be a minor problem in this survey with only three people
choosing it. Additionally, no one chose message board spam. This makes sense because
such spam was a problem in the past and mostly with Usenet. Now message boards
are usually strongly moderated and so no spam is allowed in. Or maybe those we
surveyed dont use any message boards.
Out of 40 people, 29 said they use anti-spam tools like email
filtering tools and pop-up blockers. Only two dont use any. The rest, nine,
said they dont know. So anti-spam tools use is common. It is also no surprise
that almost all of those who dont know if they use any also know little or barely
anything about spam.
Most do want more government
action on spam, but the majority doesnt want much tougher laws. All who chose
to leave things as they are did so because spam barely affects them; they get zero
to five spam emails per week. Strangely, there is no correlation between people
wanting much tougher laws and them currently getting a lot of spam. Only three
out of ten people who want much tougher laws get over 20 spam emails a week.
So in conclusion, email spam seems to not be that big of a
problem for most (with 72.5% receiving 15 or less per week), but a high
percentage of people (27.5%) still
get too much. In addition, pop-ups are dominant among other types of spam one
comes across. More than half know little or barely anything about spam, which
is not a positive thing. Nonetheless, almost
three-fourths do make use of anti-spam tools. Moreover, most people do
want more to be done to control spam. Overall, the survey answered most of the
questions we raised, but there were no factors established which can explain
why some receive more or less email spam than others. Furthermore, to get more
accurate and realistic results, a much more extensive survey
has to be given to a much greater number of people.
Spam Survey
Please circle an
answer for each question.
Gender: a) Male b) Female
21(52.5%) 19 (47.5%)
Age: a) Under 18 b) 18-22 c) 23-27 d) 28-32 e) 33-37 f) Over 37
6 (15%) 23 (57.5%) 3 (7.5%) 0 (0%) 1 (2.5%) 7 (17.5%)
What is the operating system on the computer you use most?
a) Windows b) Mac c) Linux (or other Unix based OS)
1 (100%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Does your field of employment and/or education involve knowledge of computers?
a) Yes, extensive knowledge 11 (27.5%)
b) Only basic knowledge to use them 17 (42.5%)
c)
Very little or none at all 12 (30%)
How much do you know about spam?
a) Barely anything 6 (15%)
b) Little 15 (37.5%)
c) Enough 17 (42.5%)
d) Expert 2 (5%)
Which email provider do you use most?
a) Yahoo! 10 (25%)
b) AOL 12 (30%)
c) Hotmail 8 (20%)
d) Gmail 3 (7.5%)
e) A work or college provided email 2 (5%)
f) Other __________ 5 (12.5%)
About how much email spam do you get weekly?
a) None b) 1-5 c) 6-10 d) 11-15 e) 16-20 f) More than 20
2 (5%) 10 (25%) 11(27.5%) 5 (12.5%) 1 (2.5%) 11 (27.5%)
Besides email spam, what other type of spam do you encounter most?
a) Pop-ups 30 (75%)
b) Message board (forums, blogs, etc.) spam 0 (0%)
c) Instant messenger spam 3 (7.5%)
d) No other, just email spam or none at all 7 (17.5%)
Do you use any anti-spam software on your computer (email filtering tools, pop-up blockers, anti-spyware/adware programs)?
a) Yes b) No c) Dont know
29 (72.5%)
2 (5%) 9 (22.5%)
What do you think about spam laws?
a) No need for more spam laws. 4 (10%)
b) Spam laws should be a little stricter and better enforced. 26 (65%)
c) There need to be much tougher laws against spam. 10 (25%)