Spammers defy Bill Gates's death-of-spam prophecy

Five years after Bill Gates made a prediction that spam would be eradicated, it remains a major problem - with no end in sight. On 24 January 2004 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates declared that spam would be ‘a thing of the past’ within two years. However, with the prophecy’s five year anniversary approaching, spam continues to cause a headache for companies and home users. Learn which countries are relaying the most spam in this special report from Sophos.
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/01/22/spammers-defy

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PhoneMail Tip #1

If you don’t want to listen to your old alternate greeting when you are getting ready to record a new one:

• press 1, this stops the old greeting from playing.  
• Press 1 again to start recording your new alternate greeting. 

On the old PhoneMail its was *2, stop playing the greeting and then skip to the end.  Now it is 1 1, stop and record.

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Podcast: Cybercrime on Facebook and Twitter

Sophos security expert Graham Cluley discusses how hackers are taking advantage of Web 2.0 websites like Facebook and Twitter to spread malware, send spam and steal identities.  Can you afford not to listen to this podcast?
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/01/29/podcast-cybercrime-facebook-twitter

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Personalize Your Greeting

PhoneMail Tip #2:  To help your coworkers and our customers you should provide the following information on your PhoneMail greetings:

• State your name so the caller knows whom they have reached
• Explain why you are not answering
• Give an alternate number for assistance (if possible)
• State when you will check in
• Request a detailed message
• Request a callback number

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Twitter Users Rocked by Phishing and Spam Attacks

There is still an awful lot of email spam out there, but last week it is malicious Twitter messages which are making all the news.  It was reported that hackers stole usernames and passwords from careless users of the Twitter Web 2.0 site, and then pumped out messages about iPhones.  If you or someone you know are on Twitter, make sure that you are taking the necessary precautions to defend your computer systems and identity

Below are two useful websites: 
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/01/04/phishing-scam
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/01/05/twitter-users

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Change the Order of Your PhoneMail Messages

Did you know you can change the order your PhoneMail messages play.  Your box is now set up  for LIFO, Last in First Out.  If you want FIFO, first in first out, perform the following steps:

Go to home state in PhoneMail

Press 9 (Change Mail Box Options)

Press 5 (Playback Options)

Press 3 (Sequence)

Press 2 (First Old Message)

If you decide, you want LIFO Press 1 instead of 2 on the last step.

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Hot Key on Your Telephone

Do you know what a “Hot Key” is on your telephone?  A hot key means that without picking up your handset or hitting the line button, (the button next to your extension), you can dial a number.  Give it a try, if you have a speaker phone you don’t have to pick up your handset, with a non-speaker phone once the number begins ringing you can pick up your handset.  Just a little something new from the new telephone switch.

Do you want to save some numbers that you call all of the time?  With the new switch, you can save up to ten internal/external numbers.   An example of how to save the numbers you call frequently is shown below.

You can learn other features by going to the link below and utilize Phone Guide Live.  Phone Guide Live

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Rogue Facebook Application Bombards Users with Bogus Messages

Sophos has issued a warning about a third-party Facebook application that has been spreading in a "viral" manner via the social network.  The "Error Check System" application sends misleading notifications to users' friends and family telling them there is a problem with their profile, in an attempt to gain more users. Learn more about the threat, and make sure that your users are taking care over what they do on Facebook.

http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/02/23/beware-error-check-system-facebook-application
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/02/23/sting-tail-error-check-system

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Getting Too Much Spam? Time to Check Your Approved Sender List

UCT has been receiving an increasing number of reports to Spamwatch about stopping specific e-mails from coming to their Inbox and inquiries as to why our spam management software (Pure Message) isn't catching it.

The first thing you need to do is check your Approved Sender list in Pure Message.  One of the most common complaints are spoofed sender e-mails that appears to either be coming from the customer themselves or from someone at UHCL. 

If you've whitelisted either your own UHCL address or the entire domain (wildcarding)  *@uhcl.edu, you've circumvented our spam filter and the mail will come right on through to your Inbox. 

UCT does not recommend using wildcards in general since it makes it extremely easy for a spammer to forge e-mail from the address and get the e-mail to your mailbox.  This is especially true for the large public e-mailers such as yahoo.com, hotmail.com, ebay.com, paypal.com, etc. 

We encourage you all to review your Approved Sender (Whitelist) entries and remove as many wildcards as personally acceptable.

So, before you report anything to Spamwatch, check your Approved Sender list.  You might be unknowingly sabotaging your own mailbox!  But--now you know!

For more information on Spamwatch, Pure Message Filtering, and Your Approved Sender list, click on the Spam Management link under the faculty staff tab of our UCT webpage.

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The Daily Greeting

PhoneMail Tip #3:  Do you utilize your Daily Greeting in PhoneMail?  The Daily Greeting gives you the capability to let your coworkers and customers know your status.  Each morning you can record a new greeting letting people know if you are going to be available to assist them.  Say you are going to be in meetings all day, you can record a greeting that says you are on campus but in meetings and that you will get back to them as you as you can.  Or, if you are going to be off campus for the day, you can let people know you are off campus.  Remember the Daily Greeting expires at midnight each day so you will need to record a new message each day.

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Microsoft Offers Big Reward
Microsoft is offering a quarter of a million dollars for the person who helps them identify the authors of the troublesome Conficker worm - but Sophos wonders if the reward is large enough.  Find out more about the bounty, and learn if financial rewards have ever helped catch malware authors in the past.
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/02/12/microsoft-offers-250000-head-confickers-author

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Repdial Buttons on Your Phone

Do you have Repdial buttons on your phone, but they are not programmed?  To program a Repdial button you perform the following steps:

• Scroll to, using your arrow keys, and select Program Service. 
• To select an item press the Check mark key
• Select Destination
• Scroll and Select Repdial
• Press the repdial key that you want to program on your phone
• Enter the number you want to program in.  You can enter in your access code if it is a long distance call.
• Select Save
• At Please Press a Key Press Shift then key.
• You can now call the party you just programmed the repdial.

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Six Tips for Reducing Your E-Mail Overload

Kim Komando writes about workplace technology and security issues. Based in Phoenix, she's the host of the nation's largest talk-radio show about computers and the Internet.  Read her six tips for reducing the influx of e-mail that creeps into your Inbox every day even while you sleep!

Click here to view Kim's article.

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New Technology for Garden and Forest Rooms

The Garden and Forest rooms have been upgraded with new technology for presentations.  UCT will be conducting three sessions on February 17^th at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., or 11 a.m. in the Garden Room.  Please stop by one of these sessions.  No need to RSVP, just drop by. 

What you will learn:

• How you can setup for a presentation in the Garden or Forest room.
• Learn the capabilities of the sound system for your event.
• Learn the procedure to get additional support for your event, if necessary. 

Get Tips from Microsoft

Sign up now and get expert know-how from Microsoft delivered to you every day, every week, or every month--you choose how often. 
Click here for more information. 

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