Security Centre
Ensuring Phishing & E-mail Safety
A lot of computer threats penetrate computer security systems through e-mails
Ensuring Phishing & E-mail Safety
A lot of computer threats penetrate computer security systems through e-mails. E-mails offer a world of convenience in communication. Gone are the days wasted in snail mail delivery. However, e-mails also pose certain threats to computer security if you do not take caution.
One of the biggest computer security threats done through e-mail is phishing. Phising, by definition, is the unauthorized acquisition of personal information through any form of electronic communication such as e-mail and instant messaging. One strategy of phishing involves e-mails of instant messages containing links that lead to a phishing website. Phishing sites imitate real websites so people will enter their information at the fake website, not knowing that it is fake. Usually, information collected are usernames, passwords, and even credit card details. And since not everyone are knowledgeable with the inner workings of websites, most people are extremely vulnerable to this problem. Internet browsers now offer security features that help check the authenticity of websites, but phishing remains a viable threat to all web users.
Phishing scams are usually sent through e-mails. To protect yourself, beware of e-mails that ask you to reply with your password, credit card information, social security number, and other sensitive personal information. Due to the vulnerable nature of e-mails, such information is never asked in that way. And if phising e-mails ask for too much information from you, they offer too little information about the source of the e-mails. Most of the time, some illegitimate formal-sounding names are given to deceive the recipient of the e-mail.
If you are being asked for such information via e-mail, you can also check whether the e-mail address where your reply will be forwarded is similar to the return e-mail address that appears on the “To” field when you click “reply.” You can check this by right-clicking on the address in the “To” field to see whether the displayed address matches the address that the e-mail is sent to.
Aside from that, some scams also give you a phone number to call if you have questions. These numbers are usually given to create a false sense of assurance to the recipient. Some think that being able to call and talk to an actual person ensures the legitimacy of the scam. However, telephone numbers do not ensure anything.
Other than phishing, there are several other dangers that can get to you through seemingly secure e-mail communications. Here are some tips to help protect you from e-mail dangers.
First, change your e-mail password regularly and make sure to protect your password. Avoid sharing the password with anyone. If you use public computers, always make sure to log out of your e-mail account before leaving. Most e-mail providers nowadays offer to remember passwords; sign up for the feature only if you are using a private computer.
You should also be wary of the nature of all e-mails you receive. Attachments can easily contain viruses, so make sure to let the e-mail provider run its anti-virus feature before saving an attachment. Also, spam e-mails are regular parts of Internet life, but make sure not to take notice of them. Some e-mails try to provoke a response by harassing you or convincing you to forward chain e-mails, but don’t fall prey for such scams. And if you receive an e-mail from an unknown sender, do not open it or leave it in your e-mail.
Due to the rampant scams making their rounds in the Internet world, it’s better to be paranoid than sorry.
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