[IS&T Security-FYI] Newsletter, April 5, 2007

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:

1. An Out-of-Cycle Patch from Microsoft
2. Tips for Reducing Spam


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1. An Out-of-Cycle Patch from Microsoft
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This past Tuesday Microsoft released out-of-cycle security patch  
MS07-017 (VU#925902) to address several recent exploited  
vulnerabilities in all current Windows Operating Systems. The patch  
is to fix the vulnerabilities in GDI (Graphics Device Interface) that  
could allow Remote Code Execution, and is rated as a maximum severity  
patch by Microsoft. An attacker who successfully exploited the most  
severe of these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an  
affected system.

For additional information, see Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-017  
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-017.mspx>.  
This patch has been tested at IS&T and is now approved on MIT's  
Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) for deployment.

Microsoft is still planning to release additional updates next week  
for Patch Tuesday (April 10th).


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2. Tips for Reducing Spam
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Because many of the viruses and malware that can attack your system  
arrive through spam, and also because spam is just a plain nuisance,  
it is good practice to reduce the amount of spam that reaches your  
inbox. There are several things you can do to reduce spam and still  
allow legitimate mail to come through.

- MIT's mail system relies on the web 'allow' feature at Spam  
Screening Personalized Settings <https://nic.mit.edu/cgi-bin/ 
spamscreen>, not the Webmail 'allow' or the 'allow' in your email  
client (for instance Outlook or Apple Mail). The 'allowed' selections  
on the MIT mail system override any of those other 'allow' settings,  
so this is the most important one to set.

- Spamscores are tricky to determine. Some spam may be scored lower  
than the default while legitimate email is scored higher, causing  
legitimate email to land in the spamscreen folder, while real spam  
gets through. A good use of the 'allow' feature mentioned above seems  
to be the best approach. You may also want to periodically check your  
spamscreen folder to make sure legitimate email hasn't landed there.

- Much of the spam that does squeeze through is often the result of  
being on an email list. MIT has many email (moira) lists... some of  
which are outdated or no longer relevant. Periodically reviewing and  
updating which lists you're on will minimize spam. In addition, if  
more list owners would consider moderated mailman lists (e.g.,  
limited to email from mit.edu) that could also help reduce the amount  
of spam at MIT.

[Thank you, Allison Dolan, for supplying these tips.]

If you have any questions, please contact us at security at mit.edu and  
thank you for staying aware of IT security issues.


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Monique Yeaton
IT Security Awareness Consultant
MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
(617) 253-2715
http://web.mit.edu/ist/security