Dealing with Spam A CyberAngels Tutorial

Contents Introduction - What is spam? Conclusion Quick Quiz

Learning outcomes What is spam? How to spot it How to avoid being spammed Dealing with spam Where to go for more help

Introduction What is spam? –Unsolicited (you didnt ask for it) –Unwanted (it is not welcome) –Repeated (you normally get lots of it) –Often from unknown senders –May be offensive or embarrassing –May be a front for crimes like phishing

For instance A lot of spam focuses around relatively few topics: –Pornography/sexual content –Pharmaceutical products –Offers around making money quickly or generous business deals –Repeated requests from financial institutions for details that verify or update records apparently held (these are often phishing scams) –Supporting a campaign, e.g. a lost child, a sick partner, etc.

Spotting spam You can often spot spam either by it being very formulaic and/or full of spelling mistakes (often with punctuation characters mid-word) A lot of spam (but not all) comes from addresses that dont look like real internet addresses - e.g. a random mix of characters Some viruses make use of address books - so if you start receiving out of the ordinary or unexpected s from someone you do know, this may be the reason

Avoiding spam Be very careful about who you give your address out to - both to individuals and to organizations Look out for privacy/data protection statements offered by organizations Get a spam-blocker, set it up and activate it to pre-empt incoming spam Consider using a disposable address

Dealing with spam Report it - to ISPs, appropriate sites (e.g. those that the spam claims to be from), etc. Get a spam blocker and set it up properly Delete and ignore it For particularly bad cases: –set up a new address and notify only people you want –Over time, move away from your original

Quiz 1. Spam is that is: a. Uninvited b. Unwanted c. Repeated d. All of the above

Answer to Question 1 The correct answer is d

Quiz 2. If you receive spam you should: a.Delete it b. Reply to it using your service reply button c.See if you can identify an unsubscribe or similar link and use that to try to cancel future mailings d. Follow any forwarding instructions or information requests in the message

Answer to question 2 The correct answer is a

Quiz 3. What is the best way to manage spam? a.Set up an signature saying you dont want spam b.Only share your address to organizations with robust privacy policies c.Setting up a black list which includes prohibiting all inbound d.Replying to individual spam messages with polite but firm requests to stop mailing

Answer to question 3 The correct answer is b