Hi
Spam and Phishing
Remember in the introduction we said that it has been reported that there is
about 171 billion e-mails sent per day?
A report
issued by
MessageLabs.com
in November 2006 states that 74% of all e-mail is spam, that one in 137.5
e-mails contain a malware of some sort, and that one in 200 e-mails is a
phishing
attempt. That's right ... the majority of e-mail that is sent per day is
useless unwanted trash that constantly fills our inbox. For those who do not
understand
what this means let me define each of these terms.
Definition list of 3 items
Spam = A spam e-mail is basically unwanted and unsolicited e-mail. There are
companies whose entire business model is to send out unsolicited e-mail and
flood your Inbox with trash. Spammers tend to get your email addresses by
either stealing or buying contact lists, when you sign up with a service
that
sells your information, or when someone is infected with malware and has
your email address in their address book. The best way to avoid spam is to
make
sure you read the privacy policy of any site you enter your email address
into. Also it is important to never publicly post your email address as
there
are programs that scan the Internet for email addresses posted publicly.
Malware e-mail = If an e-mail contains malware it contains a small program
that if you execute it, will infect your computer with a virus, worm,
Trojan,
backdoor, or spyware. These programs can cause loss of data and loss of
personal information such as your online banking information. It goes
without saying
that you definitely do not want any of these programs running on your
computer. Your best way to avoid getting infected from these emails is to
not open
anything from someone that you do not know or trust.
Phishing Attempt = A phishing attempt is when you receive an e-mail that is
written and formatted in such a way as to trick you into thinking they are a
legitimate company. They typically masquerade as e-mails from legitimate
companies such as a financial institutions and contain links back to sites
that
look real. The reality, though, is these sites and e-mails are all fake and
are simply being used to try and steal your information so that they can
attempt
an Identity Theft with your information. With that said, it is advised that
you never provide information such as your date of birth, social security
number,
or other personal information at site that you arrived at from a link in an
e-mail.
list end
To combat spam, malware, and phishing attempts it is advised that you use
have installed and updated on your computer the following:
List of 3 items
. Anti-Spyware Product such as
Spybot - Search & Destroy,
Lavasoft Ad-Aware,
or Webroot Spysweeper
. An anti-virus product that you keep updated!
. Internet Explorer with the Phishing Filter enabled or Mozilla Firefox with
its filter enabled. Instructions on how to turn these on can be found below.
list end
I also advise that you read and follow the advice in this tutorial:
Simple and easy ways to keep your computer safe and secure on the Internet
How to enable the Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7:
List of 7 items
1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click on Tools and then select Internet Options.
3. Click on the Security tab.
4. Click on the Custom Level button.
5. Scroll down to the Miscellaneous category and look for Use Phishing
Filter underneath it.
6. Select Enable.
7. Press the OK button. Then press the Apply and OK button again.
list end
How to enable the Phishing Filter in Mozilla Firefox:
List of 6 items
1. Open Firefox
2. Click on the Tools menu and select Options.
3. Click on the Security option category.
4. Put a checkmark in the checkbox labeled Tell me if the site I'm visiting
is a suspected forgery
5. Select the option labeled Check by asking Google about each site I visit.
6. Press the OK button.
list end
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vy Pham" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <jaws-users-list@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 6:05 AM
Subject: [JAWS-Users] Re: important information regarding email messages and
IE 7
>
> I am sorry, but what is a Phishing Filter?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Ferrin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <jaws-users-list@googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 11:47 AM
> Subject: [JAWS-Users] important information regarding email messages and
> IE
> 7
>
>
>>
>> This is from Ray, I just hope he's not giving a test later on or I'll
>> have
>> to study up on what parts of this I don't already know. Still folks it's
>> a
>> very interesting read to say the least.
>> David Ferrin
>> Hi Dave
>>
>> this is part of a Tutorial found interesting.
>>
>> How to enable the Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7:
>>
>> List of 7 items
>>
>> 1. Open Internet Explorer
>>
>> 2. Click on Tools and then select Internet Options.
>>
>> 3. Click on the Security tab.
>>
>> 4. Click on the Custom Level button.
>>
>> 5. Scroll down to the Miscellaneous category and look for Use Phishing
>>
>> Filter underneath it.
>>
>> 6. Select Enable.
>>
>> 7. Press the OK button. Then press the Apply and OK button again.
>>
>> list end
>>
>> How to enable the Phishing Filter in Mozilla Firefox:
>>
>> List of 6 items
>>
>> 1. Open Firefox
>>
>> 2. Click on the Tools menu and select Options.
>>
>> 3. Click on the Security option category.
>>
>> 4. Put a checkmark in the checkbox labeled Tell me if the site I'm
>> visiting
>>
>> is a suspected forgery
>>
>> 5. Select the option labeled Check by asking Google about each site I
>> visit.
>>
>> 6. Press the OK button.
>>
>> list end
>>
>> E-mail Terms and Definitions
>>
>> There are many different types of software, protocols, and services
>>
>> available to access and send e-mail. In this section we will explain
>> various
>>
>> technical
>>
>> terms that you may see when using e-mail services.
>>
>> Definition list of 6 items
>>
>> POP3 = POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol version 3. POP3 software
>> usually
>>
>> runs on an ISP's or company's server and accepts connections from your
>> mail
>>
>> software. Once connected your mail software will send your login
>>
>> information, and if you successfully login, will download any new mail
>> that
>>
>> may be stored
>>
>> on the servers to your local machine. It is important to note that a POP3
>>
>> server is used only for retrieval of e-mail in a mailbox stored on the
>> POP3
>>
>> server.
>>
>> It is not used to actually send e-mail.
>>
>> SMTP = SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transport Protocol. SMTP software
>> usually
>>
>> runs on an ISP's or company's network, accepts mail from your mail
>> software,
>>
>> and then delivers it to your recipient. It is important to note that the
>>
>> SMTP server is used only for sending and accepting e-mail to and from
>> other
>>
>> servers
>>
>> or accepting e-mail to be sent from your mail client. SMTP servers are
>> not
>>
>> used to download e-mail saved on the server. To do that you would use the
>>
>> POP3
>>
>> server described above.
>>
>> IMAP = IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. This protocol is
>>
>> similar to POP3 in that it is used to access mail that is located on your
>>
>> mail
>>
>> server. The difference is that IMAP allows you to view and access your
>>
>> e-mail without downloading the e-mail to your local computer like POP3
>> does.
>>
>> This
>>
>> allows you to have the same access to your mail, including folders and
>> sent
>>
>> items, from any computer that has an IMAP client on it. The disadvantage
>> to
>>
>> IMAP is that this protocol tends to be resource intensive for the server
>> and
>>
>> your mailbox can quickly grow in size because the mail is not typically
>>
>> downloaded.
>>
>> It is for these reasons that most ISP's do not offer IMAP access to your
>>
>> mailboxes.
>>
>> Webmail = Webmail is simply the ability to access the mail in your
>> mailbox
>>
>> stored on a server using your web browser. The most commonly used webmail
>>
>> applications
>>
>> are Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
>>
>> list end
>>
>> Frequently Asked Questions
>>
>> Q: Is it true that people can read my e-mails while they travel through
>>
>> Internet on the way to the person I am sending them to?
>>
>> A: The technical answer is Yes. Any time a message passes through a
>> server,
>>
>> that server can examine the message, copy the message, or even delete the
>>
>> message
>>
>> depending on certain criteria. The reality, though, is that the majority
>> of
>>
>> ISPs and companies do not do this simply because it would become
>>
>> overwhelming
>>
>> to store copies of all the mail that passes through their server. At the
>>
>> same time, it is always better to be safe then sorry. So never send
>>
>> personally
>>
>> identifiable information such as social security numbers, credit card and
>>
>> banking information, passwords, etc via e-mail.
>>
>> Q: Who or what is this Mailer-Daemon or Postmaster that sometimes sends
>> me
>>
>> an e-mail.
>>
>> A: These mailer-daemon or postmaster emails are automatically generated
>> by
>>
>> the mail server software when an e-mail you sent failed to reach it's
>>
>> intended
>>
>> recipient for some reason. Whether it be you sent an e-mail to a person
>> that
>>
>> does not exist, the recipient's mailbox is full, or the server is having
>> an
>>
>> error, when you receive one of these e-mails it means that your e-mail
>>
>> failed to be delivered. If you open the email they will typically, if you
>>
>> can decode
>>
>> the information, give a reason as to why the delivery failed.
>>
>> Q: Why does it take so long for someone to receive an e-mail I sent them?
>>
>> A: When you send an e-mail to someone it should get to them within
>> minutes
>>
>> if not seconds. There are many factors, though, that could cause delays
>> in
>>
>> delivery.
>>
>> Below we explain a few of these factors:
>>
>> List of 4 items
>>
>> . When a server receives an e-mail it is placed in a first-in-first-out
>>
>> queue. If the queue has a lot of messages in it, and the server is not a
>>
>> very powerful
>>
>> one, it could take a while for your message to be processed. This is
>>
>> exacerbated further as a mail message may have to pass through multiple
>>
>> servers each
>>
>> adding their own delay.
>>
>> . You may be having trouble connecting to your outgoing mail server
>> because
>>
>> the server is having a problem or your Internet connection is down. You
>> can
>>
>> usually see signs of this problem when the message you sent is sitting in
>>
>> your Outbox folder instead of appearing in your Sent folder. A e-mail in
>>
>> your
>>
>> outbox usually indicates a problem connecting to your outgoing mail
>> server.
>>
>> . The person receiving the e-mail is having trouble connecting to their
>>
>> incoming mail server in order to download the e-mail you sent them.
>>
>> . The recipients address was spelled wrong or the recipients mailbox is
>>
>> full. When you run into this type of issue you will generally receive an
>>
>> error back
>>
>> from the Mailer-Daemon with a cryptic message stating that the address
>> could
>>
>> not be found or the mailbox was out of space.
>>
>> list end
>>
>> Q: I keep getting messages from someone called Mailer-Daemon saying that
>> I
>>
>> am sending e-mail to people that I never sent to!?!?!
>>
>> A: I see this question all of the time. You check for new e-mail on your
>>
>> computer and a stream of e-mails from someone called Mailer-Daemon appear
>>
>> saying
>>
>> that your e-mail message to some unknown address failed. These types of
>>
>> messages are typically due to your own computer or someone else's
>> computer
>>
>> being
>>
>> infected with an e-mail worm. E-mail worms typically propagate by
>> scanning
>>
>> an infected computer's address book and then disguising itself as one of
>> the
>>
>> contacts in this address book. It then sends an e-mail to everyone in the
>>
>> list or other randomly generated recipients. When these e-mails fail to
>>
>> deliver
>>
>> for whatever reason, the errors are returned to you because the worm is
>>
>> sending out that e-mail disguised as yourself.
>>
>> If it is not your computer that is infected there is, unfortunately, not
>>
>> much you can do to fix these types of problems other than try and examine
>>
>> the Internet
>>
>> header of the mail message to determine the IP address of the computer
>> that
>>
>> is sending the messages. You can then hopefully track the user down using
>>
>> this
>>
>> information to let them know they are infected.
>>
>> Q: When someone sends me an e-mail they get a message back saying it was
>>
>> undeliverable because I have no space left in my mailbox!
>>
>> A: When someone sends you an e-mail your mail server will store the
>> message
>>
>> in a mailbox on the server. ISPs, though, will typically set a maximum
>>
>> allowable
>>
>> size for your mailbox, and if your mailbox reaches this limit, will
>> generate
>>
>> error messages stating that your mailbox is full to whoever sends you an
>>
>> e-mail.
>>
>> To fix this problem download all your mail off the mail server using a
>> POP3
>>
>> client such as Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird, Eudora, etc. These
>>
>> types
>>
>> of problems typically occur when someone enables the setting in the mail
>>
>> software to leave messages on the server. When this setting is enabled
>> when
>>
>> you
>>
>> download new e-mail a copy is left up on the server and is never deleted.
>>
>> Q: Where does e-mail get stored on my computer?
>>
>> A: When your mail client downloads new mail it stores them in mailboxes
>> on
>>
>> your local computer. Depending on the software you use for mail, the
>>
>> mailboxes
>>
>> will be stored in various locations. Below is a list of the default
>>
>> locations for the more popular mail software packages.
>>
>> Table with 2 columns and 8 rows
>>
>> Mail Software
>>
>> Location on your computer
>>
>> Eudora
>>
>> C:\Program Files\Eudora
>>
>> Mozilla Thunderbird
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings\LoginName\Application
>>
>> Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\random.default\Mail\Local Folders
>>
>> Opera
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings\LoginName\Application Data\Opera\Opera\mail
>>
>> Outlook
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings\LoginName\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
>>
>> Outlook Express
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings\LoginName\Local Settings\Application
>>
>> Data\Identities\{IdentityCode}\Microsoft\Outlook Express
>>
>> Windows Mail (Vista)
>>
>> C:\Users\LoginName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local Folders
>>
>> Windows Live Mail Desktop
>>
>> C:\Documents and Settings\LoginName\Local Settings\Application
>>
>> Data\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>> A: Either :)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> >
>
>
> >
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.2/641 - Release Date: 1/20/2007
> 10:24 AM
>
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