ALERTS > Webmaster@uspto.gov Doesn't Send Unsolicited E-mail!

The webmaster@uspto.gov mailbox is used only for receipt of E-mail regarding specific website performance issues and response to such inquiries. It is not used to send unsolicited E-mail messages. Further, we do not send any attachments without making prior arrangements to do so such as in response to specific requests for assistance.

Security exploits such as the "KLEZ" family of worms take advantage of vulnerabilities in E-mail programs to infect a user's computer, locate E-mail addresses in files (such as cached copies of webpages) and ship themselves out with fake "from" addresses derived from those files. There are also publicly available mailing scripts and other things that can be easily done to fake an originating address. You can find out where an E-mail "really" came from by checking something called an"internet header" (not the same thing as a message header). What you'll see is a chain of server domain names and IP addresses (a set of numbers separated by periods in the form 172.##.###.##) that identifies servers and routers involved in transmitting and receiving the E-mail.

If you receive an E-mail purporting to be from the webmaster@uspto.gov address but have not recently e-mailed the webmaster with a question, please delete it. If you unexpectedly receive an E-mail with an attachment from any other uspto.gov address, do not open the attachment without first determining that it is safe to open it. Make sure it is an attachment that you expected to receive and take a few precautionary steps to make sure that the attachment will not launch a "payload" virus or worm.

How to determine what kind of attachment you have received:

• Look at the icon - does it look like it might be an executable (program) file even though the name says it's a picture? If it is an executable file, then don't click on it - to do so will launch a program that could contain a virus.

• Still suspicious? Check the real name of the attachment (sometimes you can't see the full name) - right click on the attachment and then click "properties" to see the full file name. The last three letters (to the right of the ".") are called a "mime type" and indicate what kind of file it is. A file ending with ".jpg" or ".gif" is a picture but you should be aware that it is possible to add an attachment with multiple mime type extensions so that the file name only looks like it ends in ".jpg" because they are the first letters following the "." If the file's icon doesn't look like an image icon or you are concerned, don't open the file! Files that end with ".exe", ".ini", ".bat", ".pif". ".vbs" and others not listed here are executable files that can launch dangerous programs. Be especially careful with screensavers - they can have viruses and worms embedded in them.
  

Best advice - if you aren't sure about something then don't open it!!!

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You can help prevent the spread of the computer worms and viruses by keeping your anti-virus programs up to date and by downloading and installing the latest security patches for your E-mail and other software programs.

You can find out more about computer security threats such as viruses and worms, and also learn about computer hoaxes at the Computer Security Resource Center operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce - National Institute of Standards and Technology.