LOS ANGELES, April 5 (UPI) -- Troops serving in the Persian Gulf have been able to keep in closer contact with their families by using e-mail, although that simple pleasure has been complicated by a steady stream of "spam" cutting into their limited time on the Internet.
The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that unsolicited ads and pitches have made their way into the in boxes of military personnel who must clear them out using slow-speed Internet connections and often with a line of their comrades waiting for their own crack at the computer.
"Spam is bad enough when you're here in the States on a high-speed connection," said Enrique Salem, head of Brightmail Inc., a San Francisco company that makes anti-spam software whose clients include the military and the government. "It's painful when you're in the middle of a war."
The Defense Department took steps a few years ago to build up firewalls and filters to keep their own servers as clear as possible of the ubiquitous solicitations. While the efforts have indeed kept the flow of spam down, some ads still get through while users with civilian e-mail accounts can be inundated with ads for household gadgets, investment opportunities and more-risqué fare that is banned on military installations and ships.
The Times said Defense Department officials wouldn't discuss specific technological tools used to block spam because it could tip off hackers to potential security weaknesses in military networks. The Air Force refuses to publish its domain and proxy names in order to keep them out of the hands of direct marketers.
The Direct Marketing Association has published a list of wartime guidelines for its members that include refraining from sending e-mail ads to military personnel, however the Times reported that ads continue to get through, frequently with patriotic or newsy subject lines that hide the commercial nature of the pitch.
