The short answer is no. The university will never send email to a user asking for this information. If you receive a note like this, check our Phishing Alerts page where we list fake email requests that U-M users have received. If it's not yet on the list, forward the note to abuse@umich.edu. We'll block replies to the note and post it as a caution to others.

Change your UMICH password. Look for any suspicious changes in your file space and Wolverine Access and contact the User Advocate at abuse@umich.edu.

Report it to law enforcement, just as you would any other crime. Also, it is always important to remember to be skeptical about online transactions. For more information, check out these pages:

• http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
• http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/index.html

Contact the User Advocate at abuse@umich.edu.

This sounds really suspicious. Don't buy the program! We recommend bringing your laptop to a U-M Computer Showcase location, where a consultant can do a virus scan and mitigation for you. See the Showcase Support and Repair webpage for more information about their services and hours: http://www.itcs.umich.edu/repair/

Subject: VERY IMPORTANT - BIG VIRUS COMING !!! PLEASE READ & FORWARD!!!
Body: Hi All, I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus! I checked Snopes, and it is for real!! Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP."

Parts of it are true: there was a virus circulated that came in the form of a greeting card attachment. There is not, however, a "BIG VIRUS" coming that will burn your whole hard drive.

It's important to know that spammers still do use the very real technique of sending an attachment or a link to a website that unleashes havoc when clicked on. For this reason, we recommend that you never open an attachment or click a link to a website that you don't recognize. If you are curious, you can always copy and paste the URL into a browser.

Another way of protecting yourself from viruses launched over the Internet is to drop your administrator rights when you are browsing, which limits your computer's exposure. This is recommended for Windows XP users; Vista and Windows 7 already includes this kind of protection.

It's just spam. It's not from the US Navy, either. Sometimes spammers or others who are trying to bait people into spending money or sharing their information will create addresses that sound legitimate. Spammers send these messages to millions of addresses at random.

Responding in any fashion will confirm that your address links to a real person. Your best bet is to just delete it.

Unfortunately, you can't. Your department is responsible for deactivating your account. You may want to contact their main office to see what their policy and timeframe are. Until your account IS disabled, you have the option of forwarding mail sent to your umich.edu address to another account, like Gmail.

For more information, see our instructions for forwarding email at http://www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/s4384/, or you can contact the ITS Service Center for assistance with disabling your account.

Email forwarding is not an email account but a forwarding service only. You can use email forwarding, which gives you a "umich.edu" address but forwards mail to another email account, like Yahoo or a work email address. See our mail forwarding documentation for instructions: http://www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/s4384/

Unfortunately, it's unlikely you're going to be able to retrieve the deleted email, but you might try calling 734-764-4357 (4-HELP) to see if there is anything they could suggest.

You can't reset your uniqname, but the ITS Service Center can reset your UMICH password for you if you have forgotten it. Call them at 734-764-4357 (4-HELP) to request a password reset. If you remember your current password, you can change it yourself at
https://accounts.itcs.umich.edu/password/

The User Advocate office can help you. You can learn more about the User Advocate at their website:  http://www.itcs.umich.edu/itua/

We recommend that you contact the university's computer store, the U-M Computer Showcase. They do offer educational discounts on some hardware and software and can also answer your questions about Mac support and the Apple Care package. You can visit their website at http://showcase.itcs.umich.edu/, or call them at (734) 647-2537.

Check out U-M's orientation website and the website for the U-M Computer Showcase, U-M's computer and computer software stores in the Union and Pierpont Commons. You'll find some great information that should help guide your decision.

• http://www.itcs.umich.edu/orientation
• http://showcase.itcs.umich.edu/

Sorry, only registered students and current faculty and staff are eligible for educational discounts at the U-M Computer Showcase. You can visit their page for more information: http://showcase.itcs.umich.edu/buying.php

Welcome to U-M! You have two options. First, you could buy Photoshop at a discount from the university. Check out the Computer Showcase's website (http://showcase.itcs.umich.edu/software.php) for more information. Second, you can use the software for free by accessing it virtually at http://virtualsites.umich.edu/. With Virtual Sites, you can use the software on Campus Computing Sites Windows workstations remotely from any Mac or Windows computer with an internet connection.