someone else, or by yourself, (known as a negligent discharge in Wild Fowler circles), is through
the use of email.
Simply connecting to the internet is fraught with dangers as you instantly expose your data and
personal information to Hackers, Identity Thieves, Viruses, Worms, and Data Mining Spyware.
Do ensure that you have a Firewall (included in Windows XP), actually turned on, and that you
have an effective Anti-Virus program. Personally I recommend AVG which is free because in
speaking with quite a few knowledgeable people who are involved in setting up networks, they
say that AVG is equally as good as most of the ‘Paid For’ software out there.
If you are ‘new’ to the internet, or even generally to computers, I have five tips to share with
you around the subject of email, which, could help protect you from having your computer
actually taken over by a hacker, or from credit card fraud or identity theft.
Your Email Inbox
A lot of people have their Outlook set up to list emails on one side, while having an auto opening
reading pane on the other.
This is fine if you are hosting with a good company such as 1&1 or some of the other top companies
which provide a pre-inbox screening service to delete threats, and you have a great anti-virus
program. However advice is it should be turned off. Why?
Because the nastier side of human nature is always developing new threats, and the anti-virus
software is usually updated after a new threat emerges. The email which has just landed in your inbox
could contain some new dangerous code, and your computer has just automatically opened it for you.
In addition, it is advisable to turn off auto picture downloading, as some spammers monitor email
addresses to see if there is a response download of the attachment they send out, thus confirming that
the spammed email address is a valid one.
Go to ‘View/Reading Pane’ in the Outlook Menu to disable the message viewing pane
Go to ‘Tools/Options/Security/Change Automatic Download Settings’ to disable the pictures
Look Carefully At Your Email
Be careful what you respond to.
Carefully check the email thoroughly before you do anything. Don’t respond to emails purporting
to be from your Credit Card Company, Bank, or other Financial Company which ask for personally
identifiable information such as passwords, or account information.
These emails may look exactly like the ‘real’ email sent out by that firm. I joined PayPal, and
the following day I received an email saying my account was unconfirmed would be deleted if
I didn’t confirm, and then it asked to put my account email and password in the box.
This email was exactly like the real PayPal site. Luckily I checked it with PayPal and didn’t
respond, and that was only because the day before I had read such a warning.
It’s easy to be scammed into providing crucial financial or private contact information which leaves you
vulnerable to credit card theft, identity theft, or even fraud. If in doubt, go get the contact number
for the company from your statement and ring them. Never use a contact number or contact details
from such an email.
It’s Ok, It’s From A Friend. That’s Got To Be Safe, Hasn’t It?
That’s a common assumption to make, but it isn’t always correct!
This email might have been sent because your friend has been the unwilling victim of
a worm or virus which blasts out emails to everyone on their contact list. Usually there
would be an attachment, and the email header would be something like, ‘Hey Bro look at this’,
and it will look quite innocent.
If in doubt, check it out. Call them and be sure.
However in truth, if you are using a good anti-virus program, most will pick up these type of
emails quickly and quarantine them for you.
Read And Send Your Emails Using Plain Text
Email messages sent in html (Hyper Text Markup Language), can contain malicious
code that can install into your computer. Again a good anti-virus program can help
counter this type of threat, but it is still a good idea to use plain text email messages
where possible.
If you are unfortunate enough to have one of these damaging emails get through, opening
it in plain text will prevent the malicious code from installing. It’s just another line of defense
to consider.
Use Common Sense
Someone famous once said that Common Sense is not all that common, and we all are
prone to lapses at times.
All said it is still probably the best defense to protect yourself when you are online and using
your email program. Be aware of what the email is asking. Don’t write an email with information
you wouldn’t like everyone to know. Not only can email be intercepted, but what if you have
addressed it wrongly by mistake?
A little caution can keep you from becoming the next victim of fraud or theft.
Remember the old adage, “Littlest said is soonest mended”.
Article by Mark McGimpsey
www.iwantmegatraffic.com
