Anti-Spam & Anti-Virus Information: How to Protect Your E-mail from Spam and Viruses

What is spam, spoofing, and phishing?

Spam is an umbrella term for unsolicited bulk email messages from individuals called spammers. Spammers are often soliciting products, attempting to commit fraud, or distributing viruses.

Spoofing occurs when the sender of an email message pretends to be someone else, i.e. they falsely manipulate the "From" field in an email. This is usually done to make you release sensitive information.

Phishing is a type of spam that is used to trick you into entering your personal or account information in order to breach your account and commit identity theft or fraud.

UIS has a multi-level approach to spam prevention:
Server-Level Anti-Spam Filters (1st Line of Defense)	Georgetown University uses Ironport's anti-spam service and filters to reduce the amount of spam arriving in user mailboxes. The service uses many different pieces of information to rate an e-mail?s likelihood of being spam. The filters drop messages with a high probability of being spam. There is a small chance of false positives, or misidentifying a message as being spam and not delivering it, when it is actually a legitimate e-mail. See the spam filtering overview page for more information on: The Ironport service More aggressively filtering spam in your e-mail client by setting up extra filters to work with the Ironport service Opting out of the Ironport spam service if you have a business critical need to receive every message you are sent
Server-Level Block List (2nd Line of Defense)	Georgetown University subscribes to Ironport's Block List service which maintains and continually updates lists containing the IP address of known spammers. Georgetown University automatically rejects incoming emails from these addresses.
Desktop Client-Level Anti-Spam (3rd Line of Defense)	It is extremely important for you to protect your computer against spam. Following some simple precautions may help prevent many system vulnerabilities and will save you time in the long run. See the UIS Tips for Preventing Spam for more information. Additionally, if you choose to use a desktop client such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail or Outlook, they inlcude an additional layer of spam filtration.

UIS has a multi-level approach to anti-virus protection:
Server-Level Anti-Virus Filters (1st Line of Defense)	Georgetown University uses Ironport's anti-virus filters to protect users against malware (malicious software) threats such as viruses, worms, and Trojans. The filters use pattern matching techniques to identify a virus based on specific code sequences known to be present within viruses. The service drops messages or attachments that appear to contain viruses. Anti-Virus filters are not able to scan all types of messages. If a message cannot be scanned, the anti-virus filter will inform you that the message was not scanned by including one of the following "ALERT" notes in the subject line: Alert: GUMail was unable to virus scan this encrypted message Alert: GUMail was unable to virus scan this message or attachment If you recieve a message with an ALERT note, please use caution before opening the message as it may be a phishing scam or other malware that may damage your computer or your data.
Server-Level Attachment Filtering (2nd Line of Defense)	UIS filters attachment types that are commonly used as virus carriers or that are designed to exploit vulnerabilities on your computer. The filtering process has reduced the virus infection rate on campus and helps protect against future outbreaks. UIS follows recommendations of Microsoft and other universities in choosing which file names to filter. When an attachment is removed, the original message is still delivered to the intended recipient(s), along with a notice that the attachment has been removed. Please see Automatic Attachment Filtering for more information and a list of filtered file names.
Computer-Level Anti-Virus (3rd Line of Defense)	It is extremely important for you to protect your computer against viruses, worms, and Trojans by being cautious and using a desktop anti-virus software that has automatic live updates. The desktop software will ensure that your computer is protected with the most up-to-date security, which is important since new viruses are coming out constantly. Georgetown University has a license for all faculty and staff computers owned by Georgetown University to have Symantec AntiVirus software installed on the computers. You can dowload Symantec AntiVirus for free from the UIS Software Database. Faculty and staff can find additional safe computing guidelines here, and students can visit here.

Traffic Monitoring

Georgetown currently monitors all outbound traffic based on a per session basis. If a computer exceeds a predetermined threshold for mail connections, then the UIS Security Office is automatically notified. Staff members from the UIS Security Office will investigate the activity and respond accordingly. If necessary, the computer will be disconnected from the internet and prevented from accessing the network until the issue is resolved.

Infected PC Response

When the UIS Security Office detects a PC that has been infected with a spam zombie or other malware, a notification is sent to the UIS HelpDesk. The computer is disconnected fom the internet and denied further access to the campus network. Typically the UIS HelpDesk will notify the owner, and ask them to correct the problem by reformatting their PC. This is the best way to assure that all malicious software has been removed. In special cases, an engineer will inspect the computer to determine the cause of the infection and to recommend a solution. UIS will disconnect any computers that are a threat to the network security, and will not allow the owner to reconnect until the UIS HelpDesk declares the computer safe.

Acceptable Use Policy

Georgetown's Acceptable Use Policy provides guidance for acceptable use of computers and technology on campus. Every Georgetown University account owner must agree to adhere to the terms of the Acceptable Use Policy. The Aceptable Use Policy prohibits account holders from activities like distributing spam.

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