Dan Sayles
Staff Writer

This week ULV Web mail users were subject to an onslaught of spam the likes of which we’re unaccustomed here thanks to what had seemed like powerful spam blockers.

Odd things like “E-mail and Marketing” from America Online you weren’t quite sure how you got, or the peculiar “Your Account has Been Suspended,” from Paypal.com along with more personal and graphic messages got through in mass.

“The spam filter blocks hundreds of thousands of spam a day,” said Clive Houston-Brown, director of the Office of Information Technology. “The thing is, the hundreds that do slip through the cracks are noticeable.”

The anti-spam “hiccup” had to do with an OIT staffing hiccup, Houston-Brown explained.

Essentially the department was understaffed, with no-one to monitor the anti-spam situation.

“You just have to keep up with updating the (anti-spam) filter every day,” Houston-Brown said.

Spammers typically use the Internet Protocol numbers some organizations farm and give out to sell products or to scam people. Although there is little personal users of Webmail can do about the spam, other than delete it, it is still advisable to do virus checks and spyware cleaning on a consistent basis. Viruses such as “SoBig.F” can infect personal computers, enabling spammers to route their mail through the individuals IP address which can have consequences for the victim, such as being restricted from accessing Web sites that were the target of spam directed through their computer.

However, according to Houston-Brown, things should be on track at the moment since the filter was updated last Thursday.

Dan Sayles can be reached at dsayles@ulv.edu.