Spam

[M S G Benning]

Ooooh, That's sneaky Keith- getting me on a photo!! All relaxed at home now after good weekend of catch ups. However checking emails , it appears some members have been hacked. I received 1 from a member that I wasn't expecting. Thought it looked suspicious so contacted their partner by alternative method, to inquire if they had actually sent one - which they hadn't, so deleted immediately. Later I received a 2nd & immediately deleted that. Which brings to the fore, as we were all together, do we need to be aware of any additional precautions we can take on using hotel WIFI in the future?

[BarryCambs]

I have had a spam email from a member this morning too, but I wonder if it came from the email distribution of the Jowetteer rather than this site?

[Forumadmin]

I too had the same spam from various sources. I also had a phone call from Sandra who had phoned Sheila whom I then phoned. It appears Sheila had been using a computer in a library and she also reported her sister had the spam. I suspect that this computer either had a spy program installed or possibly that Sheila remained logged in and someone else took over the account. There could be many other explanations as to why some club members get spam. The first thing to deduce is 'is it exactly the same spam message'. Then you can see from all the reported incidents from where the spam may have propagated.
The reason I say Sheila may be the source is that some of her affected contacts are not known to any of us. Also some of them are members who I or very few of the targets would have contacted recently. The important thing is to make sure your email service provider is warning you about such spam, and of course not to proliferate it by clicking on anything in the message. Immediately delete it and report as spam if your service provider has not already marked it as such.

This is quite a common occurrence, and I used to contact people who I thought might have been affected but did not on this occasion until prompted by Sandra.

You can reduce the possibility of such spam by not CC ing people but BCC ing those you want to copy. Any email intercepted with CC s on it can be used to propagate a spam virus. BCC ing makes only the prime recipient visible.

The subject is certainly more complex than this as the industry is trying many methods to reduce spam but it requires all mail systems to co-operate. One that does not accept secure links is BT internet by the way. I think this maybe because they want to be different to the US and other countries.

I do not think it is the email distribution of the Jowetteer as Jack sends them BCCed. Also some of those reported to be affected do not receive the email Jowetteer. More FUD! It is also not jowett.net although mails sent to club officers might be routed through its mail system.

Regarding hotel Wifi ...this can be a source of interceptions and spying. If the WiFi does not allow you to use an https connection then do not use it. My Android phone warns me of this as soon as I connect to such a wifi. Provided your device has a properly installed firewall , you should be OK to use a Hotel wifi. But to reduce the threat only keep it connected for a short time. This reduces the time hackers have to penetrate your defences. Note that allowing apps such as Facebook and Whatsapp to access your files and contacts is also a potential security risk.

If you need to know more then do some research using Google!

[Keith Clements]

HTTPS is the protocol used to establish a secure encrypted connection between the service (e.g. your email server) and your browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari). This ensures your conversation cannot be eavesdropped or intercepted on the network connection. However, if your computer or device you are using to access the Internet has been compromised or hacked then the spy program could be sending information to the perpetrator.

Maintaining a secure device requires some diligence. If you are using a shared device then it is probably best to shut it down and reboot ( or at the very least close and then re-open the browser). But it is also sensible to check there are no USB sticks plugged in that might contain spy programs and that an up to date virus checker is working. Perhaps even do a virus scan. Computers in hotels and libraries may be poorly maintained and easily hacked. You can still use them but only for non-sensitive purposes where you are not sharing personal information.

It is very easy to be conned into providing personal details when a web page is displayed (as it is on the telephone). The first defence is not to click on anything displayed from a source you do not trust. The second defence is to thoroughly check where you are being led by looking carefully at the URLs being displayed in the address bar at the top of the browser. Is someone trying to impersonate a trusted website? Just like when you get an unsolicited phone call you need to be wary! The third defence is to store and transfer sensitive data securely. Learn how to encrypt and password protect files. Learn how to communicate shared secrets such as passwords securely. It is not much good encrypting a file then sending the password in the same email. Send the password by text message or verbally.

Jowett Talk and all the Member Services on jowett.net use HTTPS
Most browsers indicate that you are using a secure connection (perhaps with a green or black lock symbol).
This post is not meant to frighten or put people off using the Internet. Just like similar precautions should not stop you using the telephone or going down the pub to meet people.

[Keith Clements]

You may find that emails from jowett.net are being stopped by a spam filter before they get to your inbox. They may also not be delivered to your spam or junk folders, so you need to tell your mail system that the jowett.net domain is a safe sender.
Use your help system or Google to tell you how to that.
The mail system should still tell you if it thinks it is spam or contains a virus and you should act appropriately.
Mails from jowett.net can either come from the system, such as login emails, or from a JT user via the inter user communication private messaging system. You should be able to see the difference between the two and should be able to trust other users, but as always beware.

[Keith Clements]

To set up a filter on gmail, click the settings cog, choose filters tab, click the 'create new filter' link and put @jowett.net into the From field, click create filter, and select ' Never send it to Spam'. That should have added this---- Matches: from:(@jowett.net) Do this: Never send it to Spam---to the list of filters.

Similar could be done on other mail systems.
Note please still take care with all emails and do not open any that you are not happy with.

[Keith Clements]

Hopefully losing messages from JowettTalk is now fixed by forcing the from address in the emails it sends.
Please let me know if you still have them marked as spam.