Junk Email 

Updated  2/2007

What is it?

  • Unsolicited commercial email (UCE)

  • Commonly called spam

  • Sometimes includes scams

  • Mass electronic mailing

                 

               

Why is it so prevalent?

It is cheap to do and some people actually purchase the products or services advertised, making it profitable.

Can it be stopped at the server?

MUS installed server-based anti-spam software to help with the problem. If you have problems with not receiving email or continued problems with spam, contact IT. Email if you get Spam; indicate whether good email is falsely being marked as spam or spam email is getting through with no marking.

What can you do?
    Prevention

  • Forms on the Web

Don't include a real email address unless it is a totally reliable company like Barnes and Nobles or Adobe.

Even with the reputable companies, read carefully to make sure they will not share your email with 3rd parties. If there is a check box that allows you to indicate whether or not you want email sent to you, be sure to make your wishes known.

Use a fake email address or a free email account address for forms that require an address

Fake address example:  postmaster@website.com

Free email accounts

Mail.com
Yahoo!
HotMail
List of free email accounts

  • If you get a Junk Email

Do not Reply or click an Unsubscribe button from a company you do not know well and trust.

Since mass emails are often made by software that randomly creates email addresses, you are just confirming that they have found a good address and you will receive even more junk email. Once someone gets your address, it is sold again and again and again

Even clicking on a link in the email can confirm your address. For example, if you see a link in junk email to http://www.whateversite/?32&xa-12375475182, that could be a coded form of your address. Again, clicking it, would confirm a real address on your end.

  • Never buy any goods or services offered in a junk email
     

  • To prevent a web bot from harvesting your email address from your website, you can put your email address in a graphic.
     

  • Don't sign guest books on web pages with your email address
     

  • Refrain from using your email in sites such as chat rooms and bulleting boards where it can easily be seen by spammers

Sometimes you can take all those precautions and still get spam, because some spammers use software to connect lists of common screen names and attach them to popular domains and send messages to them. For instance  john@aol.com or jsmith@hotmail.com will probably get spam.
 

Removal

Don't be embarrassed to ask for help if you are getting XXX emails. You do not have to go to any questionable sites to get on the spammers list for such emails.

  • What about Do Not Mail Lists?

Most sources say they really don’t work, so don’t bother. Some disreputable ones even add your address to other spammers' lists.

  • Law Enforcement Reporting (Don't expect it to make any difference in the amount of spam you get.)

    Fraudulent or deception practices - You can forward it to uce@ftc.gov for the Federal Trade Commission to add to their database.

Additional Resources:

  • Determine the Domain 

http://www.jcrdesign.com/junkemaildeal.html

Cracking Forged Headers of Spammers http://www.ecofuture.org/jmemail.html

To Display the Full Header to send to IT

Outlook

Open the message.

Go to the View menu, select Options; opens the "Message Options" window.

Right-click anywhere in the Internet headers field and click Select All.

Right-click and select Copy.

Close the "Message Options" window.

Click the Forward button.

Paste the copied information at the beginning of the message.

Send the forwarded message to one of the IT Managers.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Related Topics

Hoaxes about Computer Viruses

If you get an email from a friend that says you may have a computer virus and asks you to delete certain files from your computer, check it out with one of the IT Managers first. Your friend may be warning you in good faith, but if you follow the instructions, you may actually be removing necessary files on your computer.

I got such a warning from a family member last summer telling me that if I found the sulfnbk.exe file on my computer, I should delete it because it was a virus. That is not true, and luckily I checked it out first. Sulfnbk.exe  is a legitimate windows file that manages long file names.

More information on email hoaxes (that may be perpetrated in all innocence)
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html

Pop-up Ads and Cookies

Pop-up Ads

http://www.junkbusters.com/cgi-bin/privacy

"If you clicked on a banner advertisement, the URL may contain coded data used to target specific ads at you. (Before clicking on an ad, look at the URL displayed for it. Codes and long addresses suggest that your mouse clicks are being tracked.)"

Sometimes a pop-up window will display a button that looks like the close button. Don't click it or you will receive many more pop-ups.

Cookies

Delete temporary files and cookies if you have persistent pop-up windows.
http://www.uchsc.edu/sop/it/tips/09-27-02.htm 

Disable cookies
Note: some legitimate sites use cookies.
Web privacy settings from Microsoft
 Disable/enable cookies

AdAware

Spyware detection software; free; scans and takes off spyware  (free version)  http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
Never install Gator. (It may come bundled with other software.)

Popup Stoppers

http://www.panicware.com (low cost; free preview period)

http://www.fadsoft.com/Another%20IE%20Popup%20Killer.htm  (free - 88% rating by CNET)

Page to test popup stopper http://www.adsgone.com/test.asp

If you need help blocking popus, contact IT.
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