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A computer virus can infect your computer via an email attachment. Even if the message is from someone you know, it could still be dangerous because their computer might be infected and sending messages without their knowledge. To be safe, never open an email attachment you aren't expecting.
LTS does not distribute files via e-mail. No responsible software company ever distributes files via e-mail.
Criminals frequently send official-looking email messages directing people to enter their login information on fake websites. This process is called phishing.
For example, you might get a message from your bank claiming that your account will be frozen unless you log in and take some action, or from eBay about an item that you're not selling. Both the email message and the site it directs you to usually looks very professional and convincing.
The best way to protect yourself is not to follow links in email like this. If you hear from your bank that a new monthly statement is available, type the name of your bank's website into your browser instead of following the link. Some institutions are beginning to encourage people by not including clickable links in their official email messages.
If you're not sure about a message, or are worried that you fell for a phishing scheme, call the relevent bank or other organization immediately.
Click here to see how a phishing email might look. Note the following.
All email users get spam, or unsolicited junk email. Read on for information about what Brandeis does to keep spam out and what you can do to reduce the amount you get.
The more you give our your e-mail address, the more spam you get. Avoid giving your real email address to companies, even large legitimate ones. You might want to open a second account with a free email provider for companies that require one.
The best way for lots of spammers to get your email address is to post it on a web page. There are constantly thousands of automatic programs scouring the web looking for email addresses. If you choose to list your email address on sites like Facebook or MySpace, be sure that you protect them so that only people you know can see them. Although the Brandeis directory is on a web page, it can't easily be scanned in its entirety, so it's not likely a source for spammers.
LTS filters out the great majority of spam intended for Brandeis users, but we can't catch everything. Our filters have to be carefully tuned to avoid mistakenly labeling legitimate mail as spam.
You can personally opt in for stronger spam filtering by clicking the Filters and enabling the Spam filter in Webmail. If you do, suspect spam will be placed in a folder called Junk in your email account. You should periodically review that folder to be sure no legitimate mail has been filtered.
Please alert us immediately at postmaster@brandeis.edu if our spam filters reject a legitimate e-mail message. We always give the sender specific reasons for the rejection, which you should include if you email us.
Sometimes you may receive an email message saying that a message you sent could not be delivered, when in fact you never sent any such message. These messages are a result of forged email, and are harmless but annoying. It's unfortunately very difficult to prevent them, so you should just delete any you receive.
These messages result when someone outside Brandeis, usually a spammer, uses your email as the from address on a message you have nothing to do with. If that message can't be delivered, the spammer doesn't hear about it, but you do. Similarly, if you send a postcard with someone else's return address on it to a bogus destination, it will come back to them, not you.
