This unsolicited e-mail, called spam, has permeated in-boxes so thoroughly that efforts to stop the flow have become extreme. The U.S. Congress has hotly debated measures to alleviate the burden of overstuffed digital mailboxes, and software makers are scrambling to churn out newer, sharper products for stemming the influx.

Still, spam seems to persist with all the resilience of a plague of mosquitoes. Are those who yearn for a spam-free existence ever likely to see their wish granted? Unfortunately, say some analysts, the answer may be a resounding no.

Not Doing the Time

Yankee Group research director Matthew Kovar told NewsFactor that while software may limit the amount of spam received, it is likely that some unsolicated e-mail will still wriggle its way into users' in-boxes.

"Spam is extremely difficult to just stop entirely," he affirmed.

However, if spam were made more illegal than it is, through the type of legislation recently proposed, that could help a great deal -- especially if new laws could reduce the number of companies that specialize in spewing spam into cyberspace. But the question remains of how to most effectively crack down.

In Kovar's view, "Legislation would only help if it were followed by prosecution, and it takes a lot of time for it to get to that level."

Work in Progress

Another difficulty in stopping spammers is that some of their ploys do work. If no one believed the story of the deposed, rich prince and others like it, much spam would cease. However, despite public warnings, the opposite has proven to be the case.

"There are many ways that people are taken advantage of," Kovar said. "In the physical world, you see people on the street asking for money with signs indicating they've lost their job, or their wife has died, something like that."

The Internet has simply enabled this kind of tactic to go digital, he noted. "It's just another means for people who prey on others' sense of humanity, but it's on a larger scale. Let's face it -- if you send out an unsolicited message enough times to enough people, you're going to find someone who will take the bait." (continued...)

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