Stamp Out Spam:
Controlling Bulk E-mail
Larry Fields
Doubtless many of you have received e-mail messages with subjects such as:
- Are credit cards becoming a problem?
- Lose weight, guaranteed!
- *****Make $$$$$$ FAST !!!!!!!!
Such unsolicited bulk e-mail, commonly known as "spam," has become an extraordinary nuisance for Internet users. In the February 21, 2003 article "AOL Joins Microsoft In a Reply to Spam", The Washington Post reported that "spam is up fivefold in the past 18 months," that spam outnumbered legitimate e-mail for America Online users, and that a study by Forrester Research Inc. found only one-third of spam-filtering software users are satisfied with its performance.
Because sending junk e-mail is much cheaper to the spammer than mailed advertisements, and since there are no effective government regulations on spam, the problem is likely to become worse before it becomes better. However, to reduce the amount of spam you receive now, there are a few things you can do.
Avoid Revealing Your E-mail Address
Spammers have a number of techniques for building their bulk e-mail lists. Often they use "spambots", programs that scour Web sites, Usenet newsgroups, or electronic mailing lists to harvest e-mail addresses. Sometimes they purchase address lists from online vendors or Web sites.
As a result, we suggest you refrain from giving out your @georgetown.edu e-mail address if you can avoid doing so. When subscribing, purchasing, or signing up for a service on the Internet, check to see if the site has a reputable privacy policy. Perhaps you could open a free account with Hotmail or Yahoo! and use that e-mail address instead. The same goes for Usenet discussions; it's best not to use your real name or e-mail address for posting to newsgroups. Some people prefer to change the e-mail address setting in their newsreader to display, for example, "usernameNOSPAM@georgetown.edu". A legitimate newsgroup member can reply to your posting by deleting NOSPAM before sending an e-mail message. Similarly, if you have a Web page, don't list your e-mail address as it is or as a link; express it instead as "username at georgetown dot edu".
Don't Follow Removal Instructions or Click on Links
Many spam messages contain instructions such as "To stop receiving these e-mails, reply with the word 'Remove' in the subject line or click here." Following these instructions in fact tells the spammer that you have a valid e-mail address, encouraging them to send more spam. It's better simply to delete the message.
Similarly, you should never click on links in an e-mail advertisement. Links can allow the site to record your e-mail address or even run malicious code. If you're interested in the ad, open a separate browser window and find the company through a search engine.
Avoid Spyware
Some programs, such as Gator, Bonzai Buddy and Comet Cursor, gather information about you and how you use the Internet. These "spyware" (sometimes called "adware") programs transmit data, which may include your passwords, e-mail address, and Web browsing history, to companies who resell this information to others.
Spyware usually gets installed as part of free programs; before installing software on your computer, check at http://www.spychecker.com to see if the software contains spyware. You can also check your computer with a program called Ad-Aware, available at http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware. Ad-aware can scan your computer's registry and hard drive to stop spyware from sending out your information.
Filtering
Most of the e-mail clients used at Georgetown, such as Netscape Messenger, Mozilla Mail, Mac Mail, Microsoft Outlook, and Outlook Express, support message filtering. If you're receiving spam from a particular address, use a filter to send the messages to the trash directly so they don't clutter your inbox. Instructions on using message filters are available from the GUMail Web site.
Fewer Accounts, Less Spam
Some users have noticed that much of the spam they receive was sent to their old GroupWise (@gunet.georgetown.edu) or GUSUN (@gusun.georgetown.edu) addresses. Automatic e-mail forwarding for all GroupWise and GUSUN addresses will be turned off on June 30, 2003, but you can contact your Help Desk to have forwarding turned off immediately. Thereafter all messages sent to those addresses, including spam, will be returned to the sender.
What Are Your Thoughts?
To see what other institutions of higher education are doing to combat spam, read UIS's Survey of Spam Filtering in Academia, available from the Anti-spam Resources Web site at http://uis.georgetown.edu/email/managingaccounts/spam.html. Please take a look at the page and use the online feedback form to let us know how you want Georgetown to deal with spam.
Larry Fields is Product Support and Outreach Coordinator for University Information Services. |
