themissouriminer.com - What to do with all of that ***SPAM***

What to do with all of that ***SPAM***

Written by Frank Sauer

Spam not only can fill up your inbox, but it can also expose your computer to harmful viruses and spyware.

    What is spam? Other than being a canned food product that bounces, spam is used to refer to unsolicited email sent in bulk to many recipients. There are some forms of spam that are sent through an infected host that automatically generates and distributes spam. Other forms are from “spoofed” email addresses that are not real, but are sent to the email distribution servers like they were legitimate, much like a letter being taken to the post office with a fake return address on the envelope. Many times the spam email contains a link to a malicious site or may contain advertisements. According to IronPort Systems Inc., the amount of spam email nearly doubled between June 2005 (30 billion) and June 2006 (55 billion). This increase is thought to be partially due to technology becoming much more public with the introduction of internet cafés and wireless “hotspots” that allow “spammers” to send email and malicious coding and then leave quickly to another location without being caught. The U.S. developed these public access points fast and is by no surprise the leader in sending spam at 55.69%. But China is the location of 73.58% of the hosts for web sites that are distributed through spam. While not all spam-mail contains a web address, most of it does, and it is surprising that the U.S. is not the leader there also.     Currently UMR IT utilizes software that filters unsolicited email and marks the email as “spam.” The program “SpamAssassin” is the tool of choice and is able to catch approximately 70% of spam sent to UMR-registered email addresses. The UMR network is also monitored actively by programs and technical staff that have success in protecting the UMR network from hacking or malicious code breakouts. Even with these protections in place, there are several things for students to do in order to help protect against and get rid of spam email. The main cause of receiving spam is the use of your email address on the Internet. Use a Hotmail or other account if possible to limit all Internet records of your UMR email address. If you can’t do that, avoid the use of sites that require your email address to access their features, such as forums, “member” sites, etc. UMR IT, through the Quarantine server, has a way for you to block (blacklist) all your previous spam senders, and to “white list” or approve of all the email senders that you wish to receive. To access these features, go to http://campus.umr.edu/it/security/SpamFiltering.html. This site is simple, user-friendly, and can make a huge difference by blocking all the spam you have received in the past, and ensuring that you get the emails from your known sources.
       Some spam emails contain or link to malicious coding in the form of viruses, key-loggers, bots, and more. If your machine is compromised through these emails and UMR IT detects anomalous/malicious network behavior, your machine will be disconnected from the network to contain the problem. Once you realize that your internet isn’t working, please contact your local RA or the IT Help Desk for assistance. The IT department has increased active system monitoring in order to identify and prevent the spread of malicious software faster and more efficiently. In December 2006, UMR IT implemented active scanning to identify computers that are at risk and to notify you with a solution before you are infected in the first place. This is part of general IT service updates which took place over the fall semester of 2006.
   The recent IT email that was sent out in conjunction with Student Council describes updates to ResNet (the Residential Life Network) in detail, but here is a little recap over the security aspects. This update will replace outdated networking hardware including wiring and routers. The hardware will be such that the connection speed will be limited by the external connection and not by the hardware within the building. It will allow for more direct access and better management along with faster security response time. The network will also branch into the fraternity houses that choose full IT coverage and give them the same updated management and security. The information technology fee will not change for base network access and email ($11.30 per credit hour). However, students living in campus-approved housing will begin paying $11.50 per month to cover the cost of internet bandwidth and equipment upgrades. For more information for residence hall students, visit http://campus.umr.edu/it/resnet/resnetfeereshall.html or if you are a student living in Greek or Christian Campus housing, visit http://campus.umr.edu/it/resnet/resnetfeegreekccf.html. The new cost is still a fair margin below average internet access costs, without the management and security service. This will allow an increase in security and management as well as connection speeds for all on-campus students.

Comments

Add New

RSS

Only registered users can write comments!

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

Main Menu