Jim Kaplan'saudnet.gif (4937 bytes)

Audit Programs
AuditNet Links
AuditNet Library

Sarbanes-Oxley Page
AuditNet Newsletter
Ask the Auditor
Audit Jobs
Partner Discounts

Search the Site
Our Sponsors
Advertise
Sign the Guestbook
AuditNet Home Page

Accounting Procedures for Internal Control
 


 


AuditNet® Information Security 

Protect Yourself from Spamming

by Rey LeClerc, PhD, CISSP, CISM
Chief Information Security Officer
Case Western Reserve Company

Google
  Web www.auditnet.org   
Also known as UCE (unsolicited commercial mail), spam is unsolicited e-mail. Often, spam will relate to dishonest get-rich-quick schemes, bogus products, or invitations to pornography sites. Sometimes spam mail contains viruses as attachments. Prevention is better than cure. The following tips can assist you in reduce spam. 
  • Be careful about giving your email address when filling in forms online.
  • You could also consider using a separate email address for some public activities such as chat rooms, in order to protect your main address from spammers.
  • Never respond to unsolicited email. Spammers will use your reply, even your unsubscribe messages, as evidence that the email address is valid.
  • Never buy anything advertised in spam. Most of it is fraudulent anyway and successful sales only encourage the practice to continue.
  • Never post your email address publicly on the Web. Spammers have ways to collect and use these email addresses.
  • Always opt-out of company solicitations you do not want.
  • Do not use an unsubscribe link from an e-mail.  By using an unsubscribe link in an e-mail, not only are you saying this is a live e-mail address, you are also have the risk of downloading malware that turns your computer into a proxy for sending spam.  Other variations of an attack places keystroke loggers on victims' computers, enabling the spammer to collect personal information - including passwords and financial account data - from the victim.  The links are now required by federal law, but conventional wisdom suggests "opting out" often has the opposite effect, because it announces to the spammer that the e-mail address is accurate and active.

The only sure-fire protection: just delete the spam right away.


Disclaimer: The views expressed in the above article do not purport to represent the views of AuditNet, any professional association or the views of any employer.

All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published, broadcast, performed or used to prepare derivative works, without the prior written permission of AuditNet. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright, logo or other notice from copies of the content.

You may, however, download material from the AuditNet website for your personal, noncommercial use only.

For further information, see section 1 of the Terms and Conditions and section 2 of the Subscriber Access Agreement.


Contact AuditNet



Revised: January 31, 2010