IT Security at UVa

Current Security Alerts & Warnings

[Nov 23, 2009 14:09] Web access to Microsoft Live@edu accounts now works.

This page lists current warnings regarding suspicious email messages and other cybersecurity hazards at the University of Virginia. You may also subscribe to this information via RSS.

Regarding Suspicious Email Alerts

Messages similar to the suspicious emails listed below may be related to phishing scams, schemes to commit identity theft, or other attempts to compromise users’ machines or personal information.

  • If you receive an email similar to any of the suspicious emails on this page, DO NOT respond—delete it immediately! Do not click any links in the email, and do not “unsubscribe” or acknowledge the email in any way.
  • If you receive an email that appears “phishy” and are unsure if it’s legitimate, and it is not listed below, please report it to us. Forward it to our email abuse team.

Security Alerts Currently Affecting UVa

Suspicious Email: REPLY ASAP

[Posted Nov 24, 2009 9:04]

From: Elizabeth Fontaine [mailto:lfontaine@westmont.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 6:33 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: REPLY ASAP


Dear webmail account Holder:

This is to notify the entire students of the  University that we would be upgrading our server, so we want you to send the following information, in order to keep your account still active after the upgrade.

(1)Username:
(2)Password:

We want you to acknowledge this email asap.

Thank you.
From the Administrators the University of Virginia

Suspicious Email: Notice To Student/Faculty/Staff

[Posted Nov 23, 2009 13:05]

From: WEBMAIL HELP DESK [info@inet-projects.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2009 11:38 AM
Subject: Notice To Student/Faculty/Staff

Dear Student/Faculty/Staff Mail Users;
We are currently working to upgrade our high-speed internet services 
platform to
provide a more robust internet experience for our customers.
Upgrades to our webmail, account management, and home page will be 
released this
summer. For your webmail account not to be deleted during this process you are
advice to fill in this space and reply back username: ???.. And 
password: ??.??..

Thanks for using our service.

Wedmail HelpDesk(r)

Security Alert: Maintenance Notice!!!

[Posted Nov 11, 2009 8:22]

From: "EDU Admin"
Date: November 11, 2009 4:51:20 AM EST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Maintenance Notice!!!
Reply-To: maintanance@email.com

Attention all EDU account owner, this email was sent to you because we
will be resetting the password of all the EDU Account holders, because of
the amount of spam email that is being received and the complains from our
customer. Due to this incident all account holders are required to send us
there complete email account details so that we can clean and send the
password reset link to your email for new password.

Details needed For maintenance.

Username/email ID:
Password:
D.O.B:

We will be very strict in dealing with this matter because it is causing a
big problem to webmail site and anybody that fails to comply with this
email will have his/her email password reset by the ADMINISTRATOR and
later deleted after 7 working days for more space. That means you will be
unable to enter your mail box.

Note: Once your password is reset don't give it out again and any spam
mail you receive should be deleted immediately without hesitation. We are
trying to develop a very strong email filter that will be filtering all
the spam and junk email from your mail box. We are very sorry for the
inconveniences, it will not happen next time. Please channel your response
to this email: mailto:maintanance@email.com">maintanance@email.com

EDU ADMIN DESK

This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity
to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is
privileged, confidential and/or exempt from disclosure under
applicable law. If the reader of this is not the intended recipient,
or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination,
distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify me
immediately by return email and delete this message from your system.
Thank you.

Security Alert: Microsoft Releases November Security Bulletin

[Posted Nov 10, 2009 15:43]

Microsoft Releases November Security Bulletin Original release date: November 10, 2009 at 1:50 pm Last revised: November 10, 2009 at 1:50 pm Microsoft has released an update to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows and Office as part of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for November 2009. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, cause a denial-of-service condition, or operate with escalated privileges.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms09-nov.mspx

Suspicious Email: Re-validate!!!

[Posted Oct 30, 2009 10:13]

From: Mail Administrator
Date: October 29, 2009 4:45:42 PM EDT
To: (Recipient List Suppressed)
Subject: Re-validate!!!
Reply-To: Mail Administrator

This message is from the webmail IT service,You are to provide to us the below information to revalidate your account
due to spam.

User Name:
Password:
Confirm Your Password:
Send to:webmasteralert@ymail.com

Suspicious Email: VA SUPPORT Att:User

[Posted Oct 19, 2009 14:17]

From: VIRGINIA SUPPORT tabaker4@asu.edu
Date: Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Subject:
To:

Att:User,

    To complete your Account Verification process, you are to reply this
message and enter your user name and password in the space
provided below, you are required to do this before the next 48hrs of receipt of
this e-mail,or your mail Account will be de-activated and erased
from our Database.
 
Username        (          )
Enter Password  (          )
 
VIRGINIA SUPPORT

Suspicious Email: OBJECT: Convalidation of experimental observations.

[Posted Oct 14, 2009 17:24]

For the Attention of
Staff and Students
Virginia University

OBJECT: Convalidation of experimental observations.

Dear Staff and Students of the Virginia University, and
my name is Luca Benatti, I am degree in anthropological psychology and recently I have made an investigation, and review the school programs of the best ranking universities from a particular point of view.

The resulting dissertation, Probability Zero , is dedicated to the memory of Galileo, and concerns a few systematic observations possible to describe with numbers, despite of the opposition of the specialists. Just like Galileo did.

The video presentation Galileo and the mobsters video outlines the main points of the dissertation, and I really welcome you could help in this project, and contribute with your experience.
Thank you for your attention.

Best Regards
Luca Benatti

© 2009 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

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