General Internet FAQ
This FAQ is relevant to internet use at MSAD 70. You may find that some questions are strictly relevant to MSAD 70, while others are relevant to internet use as a whole
If you have any questions that are not addressed here, please e-mail "T S"
- How can I keep my inbox clear of SPAM?
- I'm looking for pictures and B.E.S.S. has blocked me. What can I do?
- How can I keep my inbox clear of SPAM?
For instructions on using the MSAD 70 SPAM filtering, please see our E-Mail FAQ
There are some general best practices when it comes to preventing SPAM from ever reaching your inbox.- Never buy anything, or click any links, from unwanted messages. Spammers typically get paid based on how many people buy something, or follow links from their messages. The fewer people that buy things from spammers, the less profitable it will be, and the fewer spammers will consider it worthwhile.
- Never respond to unwanted e-mail messages. Many junk messages have some sort of "remove me" or "unsubscribe" link or instructions. Responding to these messages only marks your e-mail address as active, thus inviting more unwanted mail.
- Be mindful of what websites you give your e-mail address to. Before filling out an online form that asks for your e-mail address, read the privacy policy. Ask yourself the following questions: Do they really need my e-mail address? Do I want to hear from them? What will they do with my e-mail address?
- Be aware of where your e-mail address is online. Once any information, including your e-mail address, has been published online, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to completely delete it. Spammers often run web-bots looking for e-mail addresses.
- Avoid using "Preview", "Show Images" or "HTML Mode" in your e-mail program. While HTML messages, or images can make e-mails look better, they also come with risks. One technique that spammers use it to include tiny images in their e-mail that can tell them that your e-mail address is active. We recommend that people using the MSAD 70 WebMail system keep the option "Show HTML Version by Default" set to NO.
- Don't forward chain letters, or other large mailings When forwarding messages, information from the previous sender is included, and visable to subsecquent recipients. For example, if a chain letter gets sent to 10 people, and each of those people sends it on to 10 people, 110 people have received the message, and on each message you will see 20 e-mail addresses. If this pattern continued, the 5th recipient would see 50 addresses. Some Spammers will ask, or even pay, people to forward chain letters to them, becuase they know that they will get a list of active e-mail addresses. Please note that forwarding chain letters is also against MSAD 70 policy.
- I'm looking for pictures and B.E.S.S. has blocked me. What can I do?
Most image search engines are blocked, becuase there is no reliable way to ensure that they do not return images which we are required by law to block.
Don't look for pictures, look for articles. i.e. If you are looking for pictures of the Great Wall of China, don't search for "Pictures of the Great Wall of China" search for "the Great Wall of China". The first two articles listed on google contained over 10 images of the Great Wall, as well as additional information about the great wall. This also makes it easier to properly attribute where the image came from.