Inside:

Forwarding Your E-mail
Could Present Problems

Did you know that if you forward your university e-mail to an e-mail account outside of the university, some of your messages may never reach you?

This past summer, the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, an independent organization dedicated to combating messaging abuse, reported that four of every five e-mail messages transmitted on the Internet are spam. In response to this ever-growing problem, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – such as AOL and Comcast – are aggressively working to reduce the number of unwanted messages delivered to their customers’ mailboxes. Legitimate messages forwarded from the university can and do get blocked on occasion because they are sometimes erroneously labeled as spam.

Why are they blocking our mail?

Each ISP has its own criteria for accepting or rejecting messages, and most of these criteria are closely guarded secrets. Because of the number of forwarded mail accounts at Maryland, ISPs receive many messages from the university’s e-mail systems. Some ISPs will temporarily reject ALL messages from our mail systems when the number of forwarded spam messages exceeds their threshold. Other ISPs will block delivery if their customers click the “THIS IS SPAM” button too many times for messages that passed through the university. These providers have determined that it makes better business sense to aggressively tackle spam even if a side effect is that some legitimate messages fall by the wayside.

What can we do?

Consider reading your university e-mail on one of the university servers. Why take a chance on missing an official message related to your classes or other activities at the university? If you do forward your e-mail, don’t be part of the problem. Reporting messages addressed to your @umd.edu address as spam doesn’t punish the spammer; rather, it just increases the likelihood that legitimate mail will be blocked.

OIT Unveils Terrapin Technology Store

Interested in buying a new computer, iPod, or software package at a discounted price here on campus? Well, you’re in luck. In November, the Terrapin Technology Store officially opened its doors on the ground floor of the Stamp Student Union, right around the corner from the Food Court. Shopping for technological gadgets has never been easier.

The Terrapin Technology Store is operated by the Office of Information Technology as a service to University of Maryland students, faculty, and staff.

The new store provides high-tech equipment to the university community at favorable prices. It offers Dell and Apple laptop and desktop computers to the university community through the university’s Academic Computers for Terps (ACT) program as well as iPods and other accessories. Store offerings will be expanded based on your feedback to store personnel.

Some ACT models are on display in the store, and the computers come equipped with university software programs, on-campus support, warranties, and extended repair agreements. Further, Apple and Dell representatives will occasionally be on-hand to offer additional technology assistance, making the Terrapin Technology Store the perfect stop for anyone who isn’t comfortable with buying a computer – sight unseen – on the Internet.

The Terrapin Technology Store is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when classes are in session and at selected additional times depending on campus events. For more information, please call 301.314.7000 or visit www.oit.umd.edu/techstore.

Stop by the Terrapin Technology Store today!

T!Ps 4 Cre8ing A NU PAssW0RD

A password that complies with the new password rules doesn’t have to be as complicated as it may seem. Why not use a pass phrase instead? For example, “Chg is good!” and “I luv Fluffy” would both pass the university’s password quality tests. You may also choose to use the style you’d use when you text someone from your cell phone, substituting numbers for letters to shorten long words.

Need another idea? Try making an acronym from a line of your favorite song, saying, or poem. Using this technique, “TtlsH1wwya” could be the password version of “Twinkle twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are.”

Your password doesn’t have to be a string of meaningless characters or something that’s hard to remember. Be creative. Choose something meaningful to you and mix it up a bit.