In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission and 36 additional agencies in 26 countries launched Operation Secure Your Server in an effort to reduce the flow of unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam) by urging organizations to close "open relays" and "open proxies." As part of the initiative, the participating agencies identified tens of thousands of owners or operators of potentially open relay or open proxy servers around the world, and the agencies are sending letters urging the owners and operators to protect themselves from becoming unwitting sources of spam.