Reading Emails

Email is a package of information that travels through the Internet from the writer to the reader. The information travels from system to system usinga 'store-and-forward method. Generally, neither the sender nor the receiver will have any contol over the exact route (or on what systems the message will be stored while in transit.)

The information can be text (letters and numbers that you read), 'smart' text (such as HTML that has internal format like graphics, tables or fonts), or full multimedia information including animation and sound. Programs can also be sent by email, either as attchments or within the body of the message.

When you are reading an email message, you are in effect accepting a file of information to be processed on your computer. In some cases, this can be a risky process. The information that you are reading may not be accurate. It may have been modified in transit, or may be sent from someone other than the person whose name appears on the message. Verification of the sender information and the content is required before you place complete trust in the message.

There is no guarantee of privacy; a better name for this communication might be e-postcard (because, like a post card, someone may have read the content somewhere in the delivery process). There are tools such as electronic signatures, encryption and message verification to confirm a sender's identification, protect the contents or determine if the message had been modified.

Phishing

Phishing is a term used to describe emails or other electronic communications designed to appear as a trustworthy source in an effort to extract useful information from the recipient. Most often this involves a messsage pretending to be from a bank, a member of the government, a long lost friend or even this university, in an effort for you to give up your username, password, or other personal data.

This short two page document is a great overview of phishing, and may be printed out and posted in your office for others to see. 

Sending Emails

When you send an email message you are sending a file from your computer to another. You are accepting responsibility for the file that originates from your system. You could be spreading a virus, fostering myths or passing on false or misleading information (see more on urban legends). Readers of your message may not interpret the material the way that you intended, or may take exception to what you wrote, especially if they see the message out of context or much later in time.

The content of your message may be personal and (possibly) private, but you should be aware that all email carries identification marks that declare ownership of the email in the name of the Internet Service Provider. You may think of this as an "electronic letterhead". For example, all e-mail sent from the University of Saskatchewan will have internal identification (called the ip or internet protocol address) that point back to the University and in the event of an issue, the University would likely receive the complaint first.

A good working rule might be not to send anything on our electronic letterhead that you would not consider sending on our physical letterhead. At a minimum, the use of a disclaimer for personal messages or opinions is recomended.

There is no guarantee of privacy; a better name for this communication might be e-postcard (because, like a post card, someone may have read the content somewhere in the delivery process). There are tools such as electronic signatures, encryption and message verification to confirm a sender's identification, protect the contents or determine if the message had been modified. Users should also be prepared to deal with SPAM.

Downloading Files

Downloading is one of the highest risk activities on the Internet. Downloading is the act of copying a file onto your computer from some other system on the Internet. The file may contain a program such as a game, or contain other information such as a graphic, an animation, text data, digital music, etc. There are a variety of download methods such using the web, or using FTP (the File Transfer Protocol). Regardless of the method of downloading, a download is complete when the file is now resident on your system as a stored file. (For example, viewing an image is not the same as downloading one).

A significant risk in downloading information is accepting a virus or a trojan horse. Downloading is a high risk activity even from a trusted source, and is extremely risky from an unknown source. There are various checkers for virus or trojan infections and these MUST be used or the risks will simply be unacceptable in the long run. The University provides 'site-liscenced' virus scanning software that will help to lower the risks of downloading files.

Downloading a file that contains copyrighted information, confidential information belonging to someone else such as computer passwords, or child pornography images may become a criminal matter. It should be noted that such information is usually not marked and the file names are often misleading. If you are not certain of the status of information that you find on a computer (downloaded by yourself or others) you should contact ITS Help Desk immediately.

Usually, computer games and indeed most software is copyrighted and there are almost always some liscence restrictions. It is recommended you use a trusted source when searching and downloading shareware or free software (Major Geeks, Download.com or Sourceforge). Very few well known games, operating systems or computer programs are available 'free' on the Internet and some found posted on the net may even be 'stolen'. Increasingly, music and game publishing companies (especially) are actively searching for machines involved in sharing copyright sofware. When this happens here, the University will receive a complaint about the machine, web site or user in question (usually coupled with a threat to sue if the matter is not dealt with). As a computer user at the University, you are obligated to follow the Policy on Software Copyright. As a good working rule, if you are not sure, don't share.

Meeting People on the Internet

Chatting is one popular way to communicate and meet new people on-line. Chatting can take several forms. The most common is a form called IRC or Internet Relay Chat, a method of interactive communication by typing messages back and forth in real time. Other methods include IP phone (internet protocol telephone communication) and the transfer of video and sound bytes.

Of course, since you usually can not see who you are chatting with (unless it is a live video feed), you are trusting the person to be who they say that they are. It should be noted that many programs not normally considered as 'meeting other people' programs have 'chat' capabilities when connected to the Internet. Interactive gaming is very popular with many users and usually have a significant element of IRC.

There have been many reported incidences of abuse of chat lines and chat rooms. Pedophiles often use chat lines and chat rooms to meet and/or seduce children. Parents are urged to discuss these risks directly with their children. When time permits, IT Security staff will present this and similar presenatations on Internet safety without charge to benefit schools, community and other non-profit groups.

Adults can also be abused and harassed through chat lines and should be as cautious in trusting strangers on the Internet just as they would be in any other situation where the true identity of the stranger may be masked or hidden. A common ploy is to solicit banking information under the guise of selling items very cheaply, or even giving away vast sums of money. Another common con is to convince persons to download 'special' games, programs or pictures which could later expose the target system to easy access by an attacker.

Web Browsing

Browsing can take you to places that you would rather not go. Sites that feature explicit pornography, extreme images or hate literature do exist, and you can find yourself viewing material that is extremely offensive. Because laws, social standards and enforcement vary in different countries, there is a risk that material that is legally posted (in the originating country) is illegal in our country (a classic example is child pornography which may be freely viewed in some countries).

So called "pop-ups" are browser windows that, when opened, cause other windows to open, and so on, etc. This can lead to a situation where there are so many open windows that you may have to turn off the computer to regain control. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done about most 'pop-ups' and since this is not a very polite infomation system use, often the content will be quite offensive.

When you travel to different sites, you leave a trace of your passage both on your system, on intermediate systems and on the host/target system. There are risks of attracting undesirable attention (see privacy concerns, spam, and snooping by other users. Usually the traces left will include the 'electronic signature' of the University (or your ISP). Information on sites that your system visits is automatically stored in cache files on your computer and may prove embarrasing (or worse).