Email Information Page Virus, Spam and Spoofing Strategies

Virus Information:

A computer virus is a destructive computer program that is transmitted from computer to computer or other device over the Internet, often through e-mail attachments. Sometimes these programs damage files, or even destroy data and programs, when they are activated. All Plano ISD computers have auto-updating virus protection installed. You can further protect your computer by never opening e-mail attachments or shared files that look suspicious even if they come from someone you know. Our acceptable use guidelines (Exhibit A in Policy CQ) direct you to not open questionable emails and/or attachments.

Frequently, a virus will spread itself by auto-generating email. These types of viruses infect a computer and begin generating email using the address book on the infected machine to populate both the sender's name and the recipient’s name. The ability of the virus to randomly generate a sender’s name is referred to as “spoofing”. The owner of the actual sending machine may not even be aware that his/her machine is infected. Again, the Plano ISD computers have virus protection that will not allow this type of email virus. If someone else questions you on why they received an email from you that you didn't send, it's because your address was in an address book on someone's computer out on the Internet and their virus was the cause. There is nothing you can do about that type of situation.

PISD software monitors all inbound and outbound email traffic between the district and the Internet. Email and attachments are checked for matching virus “signatures” against a continually updated database of thousands of known viruses. If the file being scanned is virus-free, the email and any attachments are delivered to the intended recipient. If a virus is found, the infected email is normally deleted and a separate email from the PISDEmailManager with the subject InterScan NT Alert is sent to the intended recipient. The notification contains information about the infected email including its date, sender’s and recipient’s names, and the action taken by the scanning software when the email arrived. This notice does not contain the virus. Please do not forward "virus alerts" that you may receive from friends or relatives as they most often turn out to be hoaxes.

You can check for virus hoaxes at the Symantec Security page or the U.S. Department of Energy Hoaxbusters page.

Spam and Unsolicited Email Information:

Spam is junk or unsolicited commercial email (UCE). It's mail that is bulk-mailed to people who have not requested it, differentiating it from email that you get because you subscribed to some mailing list or receive as approved district correspondence. The messages may contain commercial information, wishes for luck, notices of philanthropic opportunities, humor, etc. Some of them are simply chain letters that ask you to redistribute the message to others. See www.cauce.org for more information and examples. However, if a long-lost brother finds your email address and sends you a message, this could hardly be called spam, even though it's unsolicited. Spam is generally considered to be e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup.

If you are annoyed by unsolicited e-mail and/or junk mail, you are not alone. We all wish there was some magical way to stop it, but the reality is that in a public institution there are no easy answers. Our district currently blocks over 10,000,000 spam and virus-laden messages each week. This is not just a local phenomenon, but international in scope to the degree that current statistics show that over 60% of all email is now considered spam and will rise to over 70% during 2005. If there were a quick fix for this problem, we (and everyone else) would have it implemented already. We implemented a new version of GroupWise (6.5) this fall, which allows the user more control over the mail they receive via the Junk Mail feature, but has the same limitations as all tools - if you restrict the mail you receive too tightly, you'll also block legitimate mail you want to get. Frequently, the delete key can be your best tool in the battle against spam. And, of course, you can select large groups of emails at one time and do a mass delete. Our email addresses get on lists when we subscribe to legitimate offers via the Internet, when we unsubscribe to unsolicited lists (that way they know we're active email accounts) as well as professional organizations that sell their lists to clearinghouses with our addresses included. Of course, any email that contains inappropriate content should be forwarded to the help desk for further investigation.

If a particular e-mail appears to come from pisd.edu, or causes you concern for other reasons please report it, BUT it is absolutely necessary to send along headers. Because of the probability of spoofing of the information, all headers MUST accompany any spam complaints that you send in. If you don’t include all headers, we will have to send an e-mail back to you, requesting them before we can do anything. Specifically selecting the option to "forward as attachment" when reporting a spam issue will keep the required header information with the original message.

The district is making every effort to reduce the amount of spam being delivered to user’s mailboxes. More information on spam and strategies to reduce the amount you receive can be found on the Federal Trade Commission site.

What can I do if I receive "spam"?

1. DELETE. Delete the message. Think of it in the same context as throwing away the junk mail you receive at home.
   
   • DO NOT reply to the spam message. You'll either get a bounced (rejected) message or be targeted for more junk mail.
     
   • DO NOT respond to "instructions to remove me from your mailing list". Most often, this will result in a rejected mail message to you. It may also serve as a confirmation that your account is active and the mail is being read.
     
2. FILTER (available after January 1, 2004). Set up mail filtering rules to automatically delete the mail, or move it to a separate mail folder. Filtering the mail is particularly helpful if you are unlucky enough to receive offensive spam. In most instances, if you do not respond to the mail, it will eventually stop.
   
3. REPORT. There are options for reporting spam, depending on the originating source of the email. In all cases, you will need to decipher the full header text of the email to identify the source.Also a copy of the full header and text of the email must be sent with the complaint (note: forwarded email does not include full header text). Go to http://spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/19.html for instructions from Spamcop on displaying full header text. Also include a correspondence regarding your spam complaint.

   Who to report the spam to:

   • Report spam originating from outside the district to the Federal Trade Commission at uce@ftc.gov, or spamcop.net, or to the spammer's Internet Service Provider (ISP). Because the ISP can be forged, it can be tricky to find and notify the correct ISP. A good resource on how to do this is at http://spam.abuse.net/. Do not expect a personal reply from the ISP, since the ISP may receive numerous complaints just like yours.
   • Report spam originating from within the district or that is relayed through pisd.edu, to the Help Desk at TSOS@pisd.edu. We will examine the message headers, and take action if we can determine the source or relay site for the message.

How do spammers get my address?

Often, it appears as if the district is selling your email address, but in reality there are many sources. Email spam lists are often created by scanning bulletin board postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or by searching the Web for addresses. Directories are another source of email addresses. The more Internet activity you participate in, the more likely you'll end up in a spam list.