|
Email Security
What is spam?
Electronic junk mail; generally referred to as
unsolicited e-mail. Spam is typically email
advertising for a specific product.
How do I prevent getting spam?
Don't sign up for free products or other
giveaways, this includes online promotions as well
as those found in stores or magazine advertisements.
Use an AOL, Yahoo or Hotmail account for non-work or
non-school related materials that require registration
for viewing - i.e.
http://www.nytimes.com
What is phishing?
The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely
claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise
in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering
private information that will be used for identity
theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web
site where they are asked to update personal
information, such as passwords and credit card,
social security, and bank account numbers, that the
legitimate organization already has. The Web site,
however, is bogus and set up only to steal the
user’s information. For example, 2003 saw the
proliferation of a phishing scam in which users
received e-mails supposedly from eBay claiming that
the user’s account was about to be suspended unless
he clicked on the provided link and updated the
credit card information that the genuine eBay
already had. Because it is relatively simple to make
a Web site look like a legitimate organizations site
by mimicking the HTML code, the scam counted on
people being tricked into thinking they were
actually being contacted by eBay and were
subsequently going to eBay’s site to update their
account information. By spamming large groups of
people, the “phisher” counted on the e-mail being
read by a percentage of people who actually had
listed credit card numbers with eBay legitimately.
Phishing, is a variation on “fishing,” the idea
being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that
while most will ignore the bait, some will be
tempted into biting.
Does Information Technology filter my email
for spam?
Yes.
http://infotech.sau.edu/Barracuda/default.htm
Do
you have any additional information?
http://infotech.sau.edu/information/email_facts.htm
Definitions from
http://www.webopedia.com
|
