Spam Awareness

Other Spam Awareness links:

>What do I do about spam messages that don't get tagged?

>E-mail client configuration for University anti-spam solution

>Links

>spam FAQs

Awareness Concerns:

What is spam?

• Spam is unsolicited e-mail that crowds inboxes with unwanted and objectionable materials. Spam can hinder e-mail communication by making valid e-mail messages difficult to identify.
  
• E-mail that you sign up for or agree to receive is called "opt-in," and is considered legitimate bulk e-mail. "Opt-out" e-mail is the type usually classified as spam because it is uninvited and can be offensive in nature. These messages may give you the option to "opt-out" by requesting removal from their list. However, if you do try to "opt out," this often just confirms you have a valid e-mail address and will increase the amount of spam you receive.

 

Why do I receive so much spam?

• Spammers gather e-mail address in many ways. They lift them from Web sites and buy lists from other spammers. They might even purchase a list from a legitimate source that is unaware of how the addresses will be used. Some spammers perform dictionary attacks using software to rapidly test millions of random e-mail addresses on a mail server and then create a list valid or “live” e-mail addresses.

 

What can I do to reduce the spam risk?

• AVOID the “Unsubscribe” feature included in spam messages. Most spam includes instructions on how to "remove yourself from the list.” We are finding that more often than not, the removal instructions do not work. Basically, when you click on the link to unsubscribe you are simply verifying that you have a valid e-mail address and spammers will then send you more (rather than less) spam.
  
• Do not reply to the spam message. Again, more often than not, replying to a spam message also allows spammers to send you more spam messages.
  
• Make sure your desktop system has current anti-virus software installed. There is no charge for using the University’s Anti-Virus software available on IT Security’s website: http://its.uth.tmc.edu/resources_mcafeedownload.htm.
  

What is the University doing to fight spam?

• The University has implemented a well-regarded commercial anti-spam solution from Brightmail and IronPort. Brightmail/Ironport is similar to an anti-virus service. Our servers poll the national sites every two minutes for updates and we receive an average of 30,000 new rules per day.
  
• Anti-spam solutions cannot be expected to detect all spam automatically. But our testing has shown that this solution is reliable and can identify the vast majority of spam. It also has the lowest false-positive rate of any anti-spam product on the market, with only 0.0001% messages being marked as spam when they are not.
  
• This system will tag any messages it thinks are spam with a [SPAM+] tag on the subject line. Users on the consolidated Exchange server will have these messages automatically moved to their Junk E-mail folder.