This rambling includes e-mail security/insecurity, archiving and content filtering.

The University of Washington has posted the following information on their web site:  (http://www.washington.edu/itconnect/connect/email/)

• Privacy:  The UW email systems are provided to support UW activities and are subject to state laws and UW policy.
• Do not send sensitive information by email. This includes personnel data, patient records, student information, and financial information.
• Email messages can be kept and forwarded. Never assume email is private, even when using encryption technologies. The message you send to one person can easily spread to many more.

What e-mail security infrastructure is in place at WOU?

• SSL is the predecessor to TLS

• What is TLS?
  • Transport layer security is an encryption protocol that is implemented by e-mail systems and other services to prevent eavesdropping and tampering.

• Always choose TLS rather than SSL, if TLS is an option

• What does Google say about TLS?  Why should I use TLS?
  • This encryption makes it more difficult for hackers to intercept and read messages.

• Transport Layer Security is available for incoming and outgoing WOU mail accounts.
  • TLS is on by default when you use the web-based mail client.
  • If you are using an external mail program such as Macmail, Outlook or a mobile device, confirm that TLS or SSL is turned on for both inbound and outbound mail.

• When mail is sent from a WOU mail account to another WOU mail account the transmission will utilize TLS/SSL, as long as sender and recipient have TLS/SSL turned on.

• When sending mail to a non-WOU account, all bets are off.

• You can ensure encryption on the mail receiver end by using active encryption
  • Information regarding active encryption can be found here.

Is WOU e-mail filtered?

• Spam, anti-virus and content filtering is configured.
  • Examples of content filtering include:
    • Nigerian get rich schemes, etc.
    • When there is content with malicious intent that gets through the content management system, we manually enter a rule into the system.  This would include the “Your Mailbox Is Full” email.

Do you have trouble finding your e-mails on occasion?

• They may be in your spam folder
• All unfiltered e-mails are sent to the mail archiver.
  • The archiver currently contains about three years of e-mail.
  • Your mail that ended up in trash, was deleted or sent to the spam bucket, can be found on the mail archiver.
  • The archiver is located at https://archive.wou.edu
  • Use your Pawprint credentials to login to the archiver.
  • I recommend that you click on the Advanced Search link.