Social Security Remediation

Purdue University Calumet has implemented tools for Social Security Number Remediation. Faculty and staff members may use the procedures linked through the TIPS FOR FACULTY & STAFF page to help keep their Social Security Number safe.
Click here for SSN Remediation info!

Tips for faculty and staff

Purdue University Calumet faculty and staff can use these tips to help create a safe and secure computing environment in their area, in which data is kept secure. If you follow these tips you can help protect yourself and your computer. Also, you will learn how you can secure your office.   Faculty and Staff Tips

Tips for Students

Purdue University Calumet students can use these tips to help them keep their laptops safe and to help them keep their class work safe. Also, students will learn what they can do in public labs on campus to stay secure.   Student Tips

Resource Access

There are many different resources that are available to faculty, staff and students on campus. To learn about these resources and how you can obtain access to them follow the link.   Resource Access

Have you received a suspicious e-mail?

If you believe that you have received an email that contains a virus or is suspicious, please forward it to abuse@calumet.purdue.edu immediately. E-mails send to this address are checked regularly, and early detection of any e-mail virus outbreak could be crucial to stopping the threat before it becomes a threat to the campus.

Challenge Question Implementation has arrived!

You can set up security questions so you can get your passwords changed over the phone! Click Here to sign up!

Spam
Spam is unsolicited, bulk e-mail. They are usually trying to sell you something.
Spammers often use tricks to get you to open their e-mails such as making the message appear that it's from
someone you know. If you click on the links in a Spam message, or reply to the spammer, this tells them
that your email address is valid. Now they will send you even more spam and might even sell your email
address to other spammers. They sometimes get you by stating to respond to this email to be removed from
their mailing list. Some spam e-mails also embed Spyware or viruses. Opening these could lead to data loss,
system problems, or even identity theft.

As a precaution, users should delete messages from unknown sources without opening them. If you happen
to open the message to check its legitimacy, be sure not to click on any of the links within the message and
never open any attachments. Doing so may cause some serious problems.

Viruses
Viruses are programs designed to replicate and implant themselves into files, programs, or your
computers' operating system. They can have effects from slowing your computer down to erasing files causing
your system to permanently crash. Viruses can be sent in pictures, programs, Web Pages, and documents.

As a precaution, be sure you have an up to date Anti-Virus program installed and working on your computer.
McAfee Anti-virus is available for FREE to PUC Faculty, Staff, and Students.

Worms
A worm is a computer program that has the ability to copy itself from one computer to another through
computer networks. Worms use up computer time and network bandwidth when they replicate.
They can cause a network to slow to a crawl or even stop functioning altogether.

The best way to prevent your computer from getting worms is to have an up to date Anti-Virus program installed and working on your computer.

Phishing
The most common form for Phishing scams is a form of spam. The intent is not to sell you something but
rather to trick you into revealing your personal information which can lead to identity theft. E-mails
often look like legitimate e-mails from the actual companies such as PayPal, Chase, Citibank, etc,
but they are not. They often tell you that you must click on the link within the email  to respond or your
account will be in jeopardy of something.

When you click on a link in one of these messages, you are taken to a fake website that mimics the legitimate
one. The look very real right down to the company logo. They often prompt you to fill in your personal
information and/or account information for verification. If you believe you are on the legitimate site, you might
be fooled into providing this information. However, doing so will give them exactly what they need to
use your account for purchases, or even get a passport or drivers license with your name on it.

Always take caution even if you believe the email message. For example, let's say you receive an email
stating your Paypal account has been used for unauthorized purchase. This was a fairly common phishing
scam about a year ago. However, you may be concerned and want to verify that your Paypal account is fine.

Never click on the link embedded in the email. Rather, access the company website by typing in the URL you
are familiar with. If you're unsure, look for the website address in written communication such as account statements. 

If you are ever about to type in your personal information on a website, be absolutely sure it's the official website.
If you are unsure, simply do not give out your personal information.

Bulk/junk e-mail
It is estimated that over 70% of ALL e-mails sent are bulk and/or junk e-mails, most of them Spam. This creates problems when it comes time to read the mails in your inbox...
Massive amounts of e-mails can bog down a system, as each one require network resources to get from the sender to the recipient.
This, in turn, causes the network to slow down.
Further, massive amounts of e-mail may make it harder to spot a genuine e-mail threat, or it may cause you to delete important items (e-mails or files on your computer).

A good Spam filter is essential in combatting this overload of e-mail if you are on the receiving end. Find one that allows filtering in the subject and body of e-mails, as well as filtering by e-mail address and/or domain.
If you routinely send large quantities of e-mail to people, please be aware that the people you are sending to may at some point suffer from "inbox overload" (too much mail in their inbox for them to deal with) from time to time. If it is not your intention to cause this, please be considerate and, from time to time, refrain from sending e-mails to them on occasion.

Spare e-mail accounts - Having more than one or two e-mail accounts allow you to control who you receive information from, and allows you more control over your "main" accounts.

Sending messages - Be careful when sending messages so as not to be classified as Spam or bulk e-mail.

Sending attachments - Be careful when sending attachments:

1. Enable outgoing virus scanning if your anti-virus program has it.

2. Do NOT send attachments with the attachments that are normally or could be associated with viruses.