Computer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -- Dealing with spam

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 Outlook Client Side spam Rule (PDF, 133 KB)

Dealing with Junk and Adult spam Email

Over time, there continues to be a rise in the number of "spammers" who send out unwanted junk or pornographic e-mail over the Internet. We are hearing an increasing number of reports of such e-mail. Efforts are underway to deal with this problem from an infrastructure standpoint, but there are a few things that end-users can do as well. This document contains suggestions on what you as an e-mail user can do to follow up on the electronic junk mail received from outside USDA and suggestions on how you can minimize the amount of junk e-mail. Creation of helpdesk tickets to reduce the spam is unnecessary.

These suggestions reflect common practices used within the Internet community. Please use your best judgment as these may not cover every possible situation.

Protect Your E-Mail Address

The best way to avoid getting junk e-mail is for users to be very discreet about giving out e-mail addresses. Spammers "harvest" e-mail addresses from a number of different sources, including Internet message boards, newsgroups, chat rooms, mailing lists, web site membership profiles, and so on. Therefore, users should be careful of where they expose their e-mail address. For example, if possible, refrain from participating in public (non-USDA) Internet message boards and newsgroups. Or, if you join or sign up for a web site membership or profile, make sure you read and understand the web site's privacy policy, and make sure the web site is owned/run by a reputable firm.

Be on the Alert for E-Mail Created By Viruses

Generally, it is best to just ignore and delete unsolicited electronic junk e-mail in the same way that you would ignore and toss out junk e-mail received via postal mail. Sometimes unsolicited e-mail may contain viruses. If you can identify that an e-mail is inappropriate from the subject line alone, please delete it without opening it. Additionally, do not open any e-mail that you receive unexpectedly from a trusted source without first contacting the sender to make sure that they intended to send you the message. If they have no knowledge of sending you the message, the e-mail may have been automatically sent by an e-mail virus that has infected someone's system.

Do Not Open or Reply to spam E-Mail

Junk e-mail often contain instructions on how to send an e-mail or visit a web site to be removed from their mailing lists. However, in many cases, such instructions are only a ploy by spammers to confirm that your e-mail address is active and valid. In these cases, replying to inappropriate junk e-mail messages or visiting their web site lets the spammer know that they have reached a valid e-mail address and increases the likelihood that your e-mail mailbox will be targeted again in future mailings. Furthermore, HTML-formatted spam e-mail often contain code that allows the spammer to keep track of which recipients opened their e-mail, so even just opening the spam e-mail will allow the spammer to confirm your e-mail address. Therefore, if you suspect an e-mail is spam, it is best to just ignore and delete the e-mail without opening it.

Important Note: Often, when recipients receive junk e-mail, they retaliate by replying back with threatening or harassing messages. USDA employees should NOT use these tactics.

Enable Junk and Adult Content Filters in Outlook

The Microsoft Outlook client allows you to configure it to automatically highlight or move messages with junk or adult content. For example, you can configure Outlook to move such messages to your deleted items folder or choose to have Outlook highlight such messages in a specific color so that you are aware that it may contain adult material. For detailed instructions on how to enable this feature, see the following web page from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;286049

If you choose to enable this feature, you may also wish to view instructions on how to add exceptions for USDA e-mail addresses so that messages sent to you from USDA people are not subject to the filter.

The built-in junk and adult content filters in Outlook may not intercept all spam mail that you receive. You may also wish to create additional filters via the Outlook Rules Wizard.

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