Spam Quiz

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Question 1

You receive an email from an organization asking that you "Verify your account information within 24 hours or your account will be frozen."

This email may request your password, login name, Social Insurance Number (SIN), credit card details or other personal information.

You know the organization and think that you may have subscribed to one of their services.

What do you do?

• a) You reply to the email asking them why they want this information.
• b) You reply to the email with the information asked for.
• c) You delete the email.

Question 2

To reduce spam, you can:

• a) Use one email address for friends and family and instruct them never to supply that address to anyone else. Create a second address for trusted businesses.
• b) Create temporary "throw-away" email addresses that you use for specific purposes including newsgroup and newsletter subscriptions, message board postings and other online services that require an email address.
• c) Do both A and B

Question 3

To help minimize the amount of spam that you receive, turn off the preview pane — a window that allows you to preview the contents of an email message — in your email software.

• a) True
• b) False
• c) Good email software protection allows me use the preview pane without potentially harming my computer system.

Question 4

If you choose to post your email address to a website, can you choose a format that makes it more difficult for spammers to collect it?

• a) Yes
• b) No
• c) Spammers don't collect email addresses that way. They rent or buy email address lists.

Question 5

You have received an email message promoting a service that you never asked for. At the bottom of the message you find a phone number to call in order to be removed from this mailing list. You:

• a) Call the number and ask to be removed from this mailing list.
• b) Delete the email message.
• c) Reply to the email message asking to be removed from the mailing list.

Question 6

Is it worthwhile to create an "alphanumeric" address (an email address that combines both numbers and letters)?

• a) Yes
• b) No

Question 7

You have an easy to remember password and you use the same password everywhere, even for your bank account. You have heard that you should use different passwords for your accounts and change them regularly.

What should you really do?

• a) Continue using the same password.
• b) Create passwords made up of mixed characters and numbers (such as 43JAMP9), and change your account passwords once a month.
• c) Create three passwords based on your favourite names and rotate those between your accounts every three months.
• d) Keep a list of 20 short, easy to remember word passwords in a file on your computer. Then you can look them up and change your account passwords every six months.

Question 8

How often should you update your antivirus program and personal firewall?

• a) Never. Installing these programs is all that is required.
• b) Once a month
• c) Once a week
• d) Check as often as possible and use the auto-update feature if the software offers it.

Question 9

After checking your email, your computer starts behaving unusually. You:

• a) Install or update anti-virus and firewall software and run a full system scan.
• b) Configure your firewall so that it prompts you every time a program on your computer attempts to connect to the Internet.
• c) Check for any unauthorized use of your personal accounts including, banking, credit card, e-commerce, email, and any other password-protected account.
• d) A and B
• e) A, B and C

Question 10

There is no risk in opening email attachments from someone you don't know.

• a) True
• b) False
• c) You can open anything if you have anti-virus software installed on your computer system.

Question 11

It's generally safe to open an email attachment from someone you know, even if you weren't expecting it:

• a) Only if you check the Internet/Email header information (which identifies the route the email has taken to get to you) to confirm the sender's identity.
• b) Yes, it should be safe—you trust your friends not to present a spam threat
• c) No, you should never do this

Question 12

To protect your computer from attacks by spammers, you need to install:

• a) Anti-spam software
• b) Anti-virus software
• c) A personal firewall
• d) A, B and C
• e) A and C

Question 13

The best way to protect your computer is to disconnect from the Internet and turn it off when it's not in use

• a) True—Turning my computer off assures total safety.
• b) False—I never have to disconnect because a I get a good security package as part of my deal with my internet service provider (ISP). They constantly update it and it's always on, automatically

Question 14

You receive an email message that says, "Click the link below to gain access to your account." You:

• a) Cut and paste the link into your web browser—the software application that enables web pages to be displayed.
• b) Delete the email message.
• c) Click on the link to safely access your account.

Question 15

It's always safe to open email messages that appear to come from you yourself.

• a) True
• b) False
• c) This is a trick question—you can't send an email to yourself!

Question 16

Does a web browser — the software application that enables web pages to be displayed — need to be updated regularly?

• a) Yes
• b) No
• c) There is no need for updates, unless the manufacturer recalls it and that's rare.

Question 17

Your best way of telling if an email message is suspicious is by looking at:

• a) The email address it is sent from.
• b) The Internet/email header.
• c) The email addresses of other recipients of the email.

Question 18

You hate receiving spam email messages and wish they would stop. To avoid spam or reduce the volume you receive you:

• a) Carefully follow the mailing list removal instructions provided by some emails.
• b) Reply to unwanted messages with a statement that you are not interested in receiving further emails, and ask or demand that the sender stop bothering you.
• c) Simply delete the offending messages and take no other action.
• d) A and B

Question 19

Is it true that it won't present a threat of spam if you forward email petitions that you receive to all of the contacts in your address
book?

• a) Yes—I want to share the things I'm interested in, and get support for positions I agree with.
• b) No—I don't want to impose on my contacts by sending them unrequested material.

Question 20

You can manage spam by:

• a) Setting up filtering options in your email software that send spam directly to a junk mailbox.
• b) Use a spam filter provided by your ISP, so that recognized spam never reaches your computer.
• c) A and B

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