Clifford Cada

Email Security Tips

As more and more people have get access to email, more and more people also try to take advantage of the less-informed. But as they say, this is the information age, and information is your best weapon for security. While companies buy expensive software to filter out malicious email, homes are still inadequately protected. And even with the most expensive security software, proper usage is still the key to ensuring your computer is free from harm.

Here are some tips on keeping your computer secure while using email, especially at home. These tips can be found in many on-line e-commerce and many other security sites. I would like to explain why these make sense, in simple terms, and give examples on how not following it will lead to security breaches.

1. If you don’t know the sender, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT. Almost anyone can fake the source of an email. Unless you are willing to do some investigative work, an email you thought was from your friend, may turn out to be from a guy you never met down in Nigeria. Attachments are files. And many file types can contain programs. And programs can contain malicious code that can do anything like erase files, disable your anti-virus updates, replicate itself and email everyone in your address book with its own destructive code.
2. As a corollary to number one, if a program can read your address book, it can certainly read others’ lists, and so even if your friend sent you an attachment, DO NOT IMMEDIATELY OPEN IT. It would be good to get an email virus scanner. There are free ones, and there are paid ones. I would recommend paying for one. Since you pay for it, they actually pay people to make updates to fix new viruses as they come. And you should always get the latest updates as soon as they are made available.
3. DO NOT SEND personally identifiable information through email if you did not initiate the contact. Birthdates, social security numbers, PINs and passwords are not normally asked for via email unless you are the one who initiated the contact to the company. Even then you must be sure that you are emailing the right person.
4. Keep several email addresses. One in particular should be dedicated to registering in special interest sites. Many sites have privacy policies that do not hold water and will send you unsolicited junk even if you didn’t ask, just because you entered an address in their site.
5. Do not post your email address on message boards. Many have Private Messaging functions nowadays. Even simple search engines like Google can search the net for the @ sign, and scammers will harvest addresses and send a lot of junk, or worse, viruses.
6. Keep your address books in your paid email account. If you have an ISP, you have an email account with them. This email is usually more secure than those free ones. Spare your friends the hassle of unwanted email. If a worm or someone gains access to your address book, they too become targets.

The list above is by no means complete, and I will update it from time to time to reflect changes to email technology. A good email virus scanner is also a must.