Spam is unsolicited e-mail, usually sent to many people. Spammers forge e-mail headers, disguising sender addresses and hiding the sending system, so that it becomes difficult or impossible to identify the true sender. It may even appear that the sender is someone you know and have a subject which seems personal. Spam usually contains commercial infomation and sometimes fraudulent offers. It sometimes carries attachments which can consist of viruses and worms which penetrate compromise the receiver's computer, causing further problems.

METNET is using a Spam Firewall to block spam and viruses from reaching the network, server, and end user in-boxes. The METNET spam firewall uses 10 defense layers to protect our e-mail server from spam and virus attacks. Even so, some Spam will still get through.

Tips on Dealing with Spam and Viruses

• If you suspect that a message is spam, do not open it. It is usually best to delete these immediately.

• If you are unsure of how to deal with a suspicious e-mail, contact the Computer  Help Desk at your school.

• Never open attachments that are unexpected, even if the sendor is someone you know.

• Never reply to spam or click on links in it. This just verifies that your address is valid and increases the spam.

• Install anti-virus software on your computer and update the virus definitions frequently. We recommend Symantec Antivirus.

• When you fill out forms on websites, look for the checkbox that lets you choose whether to accept further information or offers. Select to not accept them.

• If you fill out forms or surveys on sites from which you don't want further information, do not use your primary e-mail address. Use a secondary address which you set up solely for this purpose.