Is it a hoax, a virus, or for real?
How to double-check your e-mail

With all the spams, scams, and strange e-mail arriving these days, it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't. Here's a handful of basic, common-sense ways to check your e-mail.

1. Be skeptical about everything in your e-mailbox.
Don't make exceptions, not even for e-mail apparently from friends or family. (Any e-mail address can be easily copied, forged, or mass-distributed.)

2. Be highly suspicious of e-mail that tells you to send copies to others.
By definition, these messages are also chain letters and are banned by K-State's Information Technology Usage Policy.

3. Check full e-mail headers on questionable e-mail.
The Received line shows the route the e-mail took to get to you. (For details on how to do this, contact the IT Help Desk, 532-7722, helpdesk@ksu.edu.)

4. Check a reliable, reputable website that documents viruses, hoaxes, scams, and/or fraud. Good sites include

• www.snopes.com -- Urban legends, rumors, hoaxes
• www.symantec.com -- Security/virus alerts
• www.fraud.org -- Internet and telemarketing fraud
• www.breakthechain.org -- Stopping junk e-mail
• www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-internet.htm -- Federal Trade Commission's Internet fraud page

5. Do a quick search on google.com or other major search engine.
Search for the subject of the e-mail or the file being warned about, such as "jdbgmgr.exe". You'll be surprised how much information you find.