Guidelines: Using eMail.
eMail is now used by most computer users and has made keeping in touch with friends and family very simple. It provides us with new ways of communicating and of finding things out. Unfortunately, it also provides others with ways of finding out things about us which we would rather they didn’t know!
These guidelines will help you to ensure that you can make use of the wonders of email whilst making it harder for the more dubious practices of others harm you and your family.
Some users of email are not at all friendly and have used this medium for a variety of unscrupulous purposes. The affect of these unwelcome participants varies from the simply annoying to the downright criminal. However, following some straightforward guidelines will help ensure that sending and receiving emails can remain pleasurable.
Let me compare my reaction to junk email (spam) with that of the old fashioned junk mail we all receive through our letter boxes each day. In nearly every case I put junk mail straight in the bin. Indeed, this is the right approach for any piece of unwelcome email that arrives in your inbox.
Some folks take the view that they should return junk mail to the sender, but this is probably not a good idea with spam mail. All this does is confirm to the sender that your email address is valid, it will then be sold on and result in even more spam cluttering up your inbox!
Spam unfortunately is often sent from places where regulation is either very light or non-existent, resulting in content which you would probably choose not to view, and you definitely would not wish your child to view (I regularly receive offers for drugs and the services of various web-sites). They all go in the bin, and where possible my spam filters are updated.
Anti-spam systems are increasingly sophisticated and easy to use. If you do not have one, I would recommend buying one.
Probably the most dangerous, in terms of their impact on ones financial security, are ‘phising’ emails. These pretend to come from a reputable source, usually a bank. It is important to remember that the banks do not, and will not, use email to request you enter any personal details into a web site.
These emails are easily recognised as they ask you to visit a site which mimics that of a bank, and will request that you enter your bank account details along with your security data including passwords! I don’t like saying ‘do not do this’… but…. Do not do this!
eMail Scams
There are other examples that you will receive at some point (assuming your Spam and phishing filters do not get it first). Here is an example of this.
Yes I did receive his, and no I did not reply. I do know, however, that some unsuspecting souls have responded to similar scams and have lost a great deal of money as a result.
eMail has also made the distribution of viruses a very simply process. Anti-virus systems are increasingly successful at keeping these items away from your system.
It is very important to maintain your anti virus system up to date by regularly downloading the latest virus definitions. Once a week will usually be sufficient for this.
Other types of unwelcome visitors to your inbox are appropriately called ‘mal-ware’. This category of software is one which you are not usually aware (although you might discover over time that your computer begins to run rather slower than you expected). These programs have a range of effects from the innocuous to the dangerous.
Some will merely record your surfing habits and inform the originator (resulting in more targeted spam) whilst others have the potential to affect your financial health. One type in particular is worth dwelling on, that of the Trojan!
The Trojan is either invisible to you, but sometimes it will pose as a potentially useful piece of software (commonly a game or an eMail chain letter).
The Trojan will also be doing something you do not want it to do.
Frequently it will be recording your key strokes as well as your visits to particular web-sites. The combination of these two factors enables the unscrupulous to steal ones identity and potentially to empty ones bank account!
Fortunately there are ways you can protect yourself from these unpleasant 'products'.
We would strongly recommend the use of anti-malware systems.
We hope you have found this useful. If you want to discuss anything raised in these notes, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Email: neal.umney@ithomepage.co.uk or phone: (01280) 702523
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