GISD Technology Newsletter
November 2019
Phishing and SPAM Emails: What are they and what is the difference?
You have probably heard of Phishing and Spam associated with emails. Spam emails are unsolicited emails sent to bulk mailing lists, and usually are trying to sell goods or services. Generally, the worst part about spam emails is that they clutter up your inbox. Phishing emails, on the other hand, are often a form of fraud. The intent of a phishing email is to trick the recipient into opening a file or website that can download malicious software onto your computer or to get the user to provide personal or login information that will then be used fraudulently.
It used to be easy to spot fraudulent phishing emails; they contained poor grammar or had many misspellings. But, over time the phishing perpetrators have become better at disguising themselves. You may have to look really closely to discern the legitimacy of an email. One trick that is often used is the link in an email that may read: www.citibank.com, but when you hover over the link with your mouse, you can see in the lower left of your email the real address that this link will take you to, and it is not the site you believe it to be. Hover over the link in email to check it out, but don’t click on it!
Some phishing emails may look like they come from someone you know. Using a technique called “spoofing”, the real email address is hidden and replaced with someone else, often someone within your own organization. Spoofing increases the chances that you will trust the request made in an email, since you think you know the person who sent it.
Keep in mind that companies simply do not ask for sensitive information via email.
Be suspicious of unexpected emails.
When in doubt, don’t click or respond to a suspicious email! If the email looks like it is from someone you know, ask them if they sent it or forward the email to Technology & Media Services (TMS) at helpdesk@geneseeisd.org and ask if this may be a phishing email.
TMS provides some protection for the organization by:
Installing anti-malware software on GISD equipment
Spam filters (see your Junk Email folder) are turned on. Check them regularly in case they have accidentally trapped an innocent email.
All messages that have been sent from outside of our organization will have a yellow banner at the top of the message that says "External Email" (see the example below this article). This banner tells you that someone from outside of GISD sent this message (even if the message claims to be from a fellow staff member at GISD). If a message claims to be from a fellow staff member but has a yellow External Email banner at the top, you should be suspicious of the message.
Don’t take an unnecessary risk when it comes to cybersecurity. When in doubt, ask before you click a link or attachment in an email. We are always happy to help!
Sue Gilliam
Director of Technology Services
Upcoming Trainings & Events
REMC PLAYDATE - Professional Development
Event sponsored by REMC to allow educators to spend time working with Technology.
December 13, 2019
Genesee ISD
For more details or to register, click the link below:
Tips & Tricks for Creating PowerPoint Presentations
Attendees will learn about resources for creating Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations
January 30, 2020
2:00 p.m.
For more details or to register, click the link below:
Google Chrome Tips & Tricks
Come and learn about tips and tricks for Google Chrome.
February 4, 2020
11:30 a.m.
For more details or to register, click the link below:
Technology Tip For November
Web Browser Keyboard Shortcuts
If you just accidentally closed an important tab in your browser, you can easily re-open it by pressing control+shift+t on Windows PC or command+shift+t on a Mac. This can be used multiple times too, so keep pressing to open all the tabs you've closed recently. It even works after you've entirely closed and re-opened your browser too. Try it out! You’ll be surprised how much time this might save you if you had several tabs open in a browser and accidentally closed the browser.
Here are a few more useful keyboard shortcuts you can use with your web browser:
- Control (CTRL)+Tab - Toggle between open tabs in your browser.
- F5 - Reload a web page
- F11 - Open the browser in full screen mode (Hit F11 again to go back to normal view)
- CTRL+D - Bookmark the page you are on
- CTRL+T - Open a new tab
Technology & Media Services
For Support Contact: helpdesk@geneseeisd.org
or call: 810-591-4473
Luke Wittum
Assistant Superintendent
Technology & Media Services
Phone: (810)-591-4436