handling_suspicious_email_messages_and_spam
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handling_suspicious_email_messages_and_spam [2016/09/19 10:47] – [How to send a message with headers in Gmail] Updated instructions for Gmail UI changes abrashear | handling_suspicious_email_messages_and_spam [2017/02/10 09:48] – [Handling Suspicious Email Messages and Spam] Add note on Gmail auto-unsubscribe. abrashear | ||
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====== Handling Suspicious Email Messages and Spam ====== | ====== Handling Suspicious Email Messages and Spam ====== | ||
- | The two best ways to reduce the amount of unwanted email in your inbox is to report spam messages and unsubscribe from mailing lists you are not interested in. | + | The two best ways to reduce the amount of unwanted email in your inbox is to report spam messages and unsubscribe from mailing lists you are not interested in. Gmail can even automatically unsubscribe you from messages you mark as spam. |
The open nature of the global email system is a double-edged sword―by nature it allows any person or company to communicate with anyone else. The drawback is that sender' | The open nature of the global email system is a double-edged sword―by nature it allows any person or company to communicate with anyone else. The drawback is that sender' | ||
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===== Is this email actually from who it says it is? ===== | ===== Is this email actually from who it says it is? ===== | ||
- | | + | Malicious messages can come from anyone. It's very common for an attacker to hijack an account, and then use that account to send harmful messages to all of the contacts. Even if a message is from someone you know, be on alert if it seems unusual. |
- | * Consider the body of the message. If you have communicated with this person before, is their grammar unusual? Is the formatting of the message odd? Is their spelling particularly poor? | + | |
+ | * **Check the //From// address on the email.** Messages from your bank should probably come from // | ||
+ | | ||
===== Is this message trying to get me to do something dangerous? ===== | ===== Is this message trying to get me to do something dangerous? ===== | ||
+ | Emails which attempt to persuade you to do something dangerous often use language which adds urgency so that you are more likely to suspend your suspicion and perform the action anyways. Vague messages which implore you to open some link or attachment are frequently malicious. Examples of dangerous actions are: | ||
+ | * **Providing usernames or passwords** — A common attack is to provide a link which looks like the login page to your email provider or other service. The attacker saves any password you submit, and uses it to hijack your account. | ||
+ | * **Transferring/ | ||
+ | * **Visiting malicious links** — Malicious links may look like links to trusted websites, or be random webpages on the internet. If you aren't sure if a link is safe, err on the side of caution and do not open it. | ||
+ | * **Opening attachments** — Attackers may send attachments which can exploit vulnerabilities in software to harm your computer or hijack your accounts. Word documents, PDFs, and other Office documents are common vectors of exploitation. | ||
- | * Examples would be: providing usernames or passwords, transferring money, visiting malicious links, or opening attachments. | + | Naturally, if you never trusted any message or opened //any// attachment, email would not be very useful. Use your best judgement and if you feel a message is unsafe, you may want to report it as a phishing or spam. Reporting spam and phishing emails is good practice, because you will help Gmail reduce the amount of unwanted messages you receive. If a message is probably safe, but you do not want to receive any more message like it you may be able to unsubscribe from marketing messages from that sender. |
- | * Emails which attempt to persuade you to do something dangerous often use language which adds urgency so that you are more likely to suspend your suspicion and perform the action anyways. Vague messages which implore you to open some link or attachment are frequently malicious. | + | |
- | + | ||
- | Naturally, if you never trusted any message or opened //any// attachment, email would not be very useful. Use your best judgement and if you feel a message is unsafe, you may want to report it as a phishing or spam email using the steps at the bottom of the message. Reporting spam and phishing emails is good practice, because you will help Gmail reduce the amount of unwanted messages you receive. If a message is probably safe, but you do not want to receive any more message like it you may be able to unsubscribe from marketing messages from that sender | + | |
- | + | ||
- | If ever you are not sure if a message is malicious or not, I am glad to have a look and help you determine how to handle them. In these cases, you will want to send the message with headers to < | + | |
+ | If ever you are not sure if a message is malicious or not, send the message with headers to < | ||
====== How to send a message with headers in Gmail ====== | ====== How to send a message with headers in Gmail ====== | ||
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Often marketing messages will give you the option of unsubscribing from their list. If the " | Often marketing messages will give you the option of unsubscribing from their list. If the " | ||
- | Read the message and search for an "unsubscribe" | + | Read the message and search for an //unsubscribe// or //update subscription// link—usually |
- | + | ||
- | Visiting that link will allow you to opt out of future mailings from that company. | + | |
* If you cannot find a way to unsubscribe, | * If you cannot find a way to unsubscribe, |
handling_suspicious_email_messages_and_spam.txt · Last modified: 2021/12/01 14:35 by abrashear