Tip #3549 - Common E-mail Mistakes - Part 2
Printer Friendly Version | E-Mail This Tip
Q:
Please fill me in on the rest of the 25 most common mistakes we all make
when it comes to e-mail security. I'm dying to know!
A:
As I promised in yesterday's newsletter, we will go over the remaining
13 mistakes a lot of us make when it comes to our e-mail safety. We've
already covered 12 of them and they included everything from keeping spam
accounts around to forgetting to use the BCC option to not backing up
our important e-mails and so on.
So, tell me, how many
of those have you done? If it was a lot, don't feel bad. It happens to
all of us at one time or another, but after today, you will know everything
you're not supposed to do when dealing with your e-mail and you'll be
able to correct your mistakes. It's better late than never, right?! Okay,
let's get started with the top 13, as continued from yesterday. Here we
go!
13.) Believing
Scam Titles - We've all received them before. You know, the e-mails
that tell us we've won the lottery or that someone wants to send us a
bunch of money or maybe even one that told us we won an iPod or a laptop.
No matter which way they come through, they are all junk! Don't ever fall
for one of these scams, because I'm here to tell you that they're just
not true. They never were and they never will be. The best thing to do
is just delete them from your Inbox as quickly as possible. Otherwise,
you'll fall into the trap and you'll be the one to lose out in the end.
Please trust me on this one!
14.) Falling
for the Phish - This is another one that we've all probably fallen
for before. Even the most experienced e-mail user probably opens up a
phishing e-mail from time to time. Whether it's on purpose or by accident,
those e-mails are tempting, but it's important to see those e-mails for
what they really are. Phishers send out these types of fraud e-mails in
an attempt to trick you into giving out some of your personal information,
etc. This could be anything from your passwords to your bank account information,
etc.
Phishing e-mails can
come in several different forms as well. Usually, the phishers will steal
the logo from a well known company and pass it off for the real thing.
Some of the most popular ones are PayPal and different banks. The e-mail
will then ask you to click on a link to verify some information and once
you do that, you're done. They will have all of your personal information
and you will have a hard time getting things back to normal. So, just
be cautious with every e-mail you open. Don't give your personal details
out to anyone. Keeping to yourself in the e-mail world is just the best
way to stay safe.
15.) Sending
Personal Information - You may have done this before in an e-mail
conversation with one of your friends or family members. And while it
may seem safe to do that with those people, it's still not a good idea
to send those kinds of details through e-mail. This holds true for any
personal information, such as your address, phone number, social security
number or any of your usernames and passwords, as well as, any financial
information. Also, you should always avoid writing your bank via e-mail.
You never know when those e-mails will end up in the wrong hands. It's
best to leave your personal information to a face to face form of contact,
instead of through your e-mail program.
16.) Unsubscribing
to Nothing - Do you ever receive a newsletter in your e-mail
that you never even signed up for? Well, if you have, they are more than
likely coming from a spammer. That's one of the oldest spam tricks in
the book. They send you fake newsletters and then provide you with a link
that will allow you to unsubscribe if you'd like. If you ever get something
like that, don't ever click on that Unsubscribe button. If you do, you
may end up with a whole new load of spam mail the next day. The best thing
to do is just block the e-mail address that the newsletters are coming
from. That way, you won't have to deal with them in your e-mail anymore
and you will also save yourself from a lot of spam or even a virus.
17.) Trusting
Your Friends - Okay, I'm not telling you to not trust your friends,
but I am telling you to not always trust the e-mails you get from them.
When you get an e-mail from a friend, you probably instantly throw all
of your caution instincts out the window. You figure the e-mail is safe
to open since it has your friend's e-mail address right there in front
of you. Well, unfortunately, that may not always be the case. Hackers
are able to retrieve the information they need to send out e-mails that
look like they're coming from a legit source. If you open an e-mail like
this, you may be at risk for a virus or even just a lot of malware. If
you get an e-mail from a friend where the subject line seems a little
fishy, don't open it. Scan all of your incoming e-mails very carefully
and only open those that you know for sure are safe.
18.) Not Blocking
the Spam - When you get spam in your e-mail, do you delete it
or do you actually add the address it came from to your blacklist? Well,
the best thing to do is add it to your list. If you just delete the spam
mail, it will still come back time and time again. But, if you add the
e-mail address to your blocked senders list, you will save yourself from
receiving any e-mails from that address again. Now, a lot of the spam
e-mails that circulate around do not come from the same users, but a lot
of it does. So, if you hit that Block button each time you get a new piece
of spam, you will be putting a stop to a lot of the spam you receive.
19.) Disabling
the Filter - If you're just starting out with a new e-mail account,
you may not give a lot of value to the spam filter each e-mail client
provides. Yes, it can be a little frustrating when the filter blocks an
e-mail that should have gone through to your Inbox, but in the end, it's
really doing you a favor. This is especially true for older e-mail accounts
that have had the chance to accumulate a lot of spam mail. The best thing
to do is whitelist all of your friends and family members. That way, those
e-mail addresses won't get caught up in the spam filter and you'll be
able to read all of the wanted e-mail you get, while the unwanted stuff
stays where it belongs. In the trash!
20.) Not Scanning
Attachments - Do you receive a lot of attachments with the e-mails
you get? If so, did you know that attachments are very likely to carry
viruses? If you didn't know, you do now and it's time you do something
about it. It's very important that you scan all attachments before you
open them. A lot of e-mail clients have a built in scanner and they will
take care of it as your e-mail comes in. If that's the case, you won't
even have to worry about your attachments, because they will have already
been checked for you. If your e-mail doesn't have a scanner, you may want
to think about switching e-mail clients. Either do that or you may have
to pay for a scanner of your own. (Just FYI, most free e-mail programs
have the scanner option, including Yahoo! and Gmail). So, it may be worth
opening up a free account, don't you think? After all, it is your computer's
safety!
21.) Sharing
Your Information - Have you ever been in a jam and you needed
to check your e-mail right away? It's happened to all of us at one time
or another, but when it happens to you, what do you do? Do you call up
your closest friend or a co-worker and ask them to check it for you? If
so, that's a big no no! Of course, you probably call someone you trust,
but either way, once you give out that password, your e-mail account is
no longer as safe as it was. This is especially true if the person checking
your e-mail doesn't use the same security measures as you. If they're
checking it on another computer, you know it's probably not as safe as
yours. Also, if you happen to write down your account information, make
sure it is destroyed after it's used. You don't want just anyone finding
it and accessing your information. But, the best thing to do is just keep
it all to yourself. You can check your e-mail at your earliest convenience.
It's not going to be the end of the world!
22.) Using
the Wrong Passwords - What type of password do you have for your
e-mail account? Hopefully it's not your name or some other easy to guess
word. If you use a simple password, hackers will be able to crack it in
a matter of seconds. Once they do, you know what happens. Yep, you will
start to get piles and piles of spam e-mail. So, if you're trying to think
of a good password to use or if you need to change yours after reading
this tip, follow these suggestions. A good, strong password should have
at least eight characters and it should be as meaningless to you as possible.
It's also a good idea to use both small and capital letters when typing
it out. If you do all of that, hackers will have a hard time figuring
out your password and that means less spam!
23.) Forgetting
to Encrypt - Do you encrypt your e-mails? If not, you should
seriously think about starting to do so. If you do this, it will make
it extremely hard for anyone who may be watching your computer to understand
what you're saying. This will then make it difficult for them to get any
of your information, etc. If you don't already have an encryption program
installed on your computer, you may want to check out PGP. It is one of
the most popular e-mail encryption programs. Now, it may not be completely
realistic to encrypt every single one of your e-mails, but it's smart
to at least do it for any that contain sensitive information. Remember,
it's for your own security!
24.) Not Encrypting
Your Wireless - This one goes along with number 23, but it has
to do with encrypting your wireless Internet connection. Above, I told
you to encrypt your e-mail messages, but if you start with your wireless
connection, you won't even have to worry about hackers getting into your
e-mail account in the first place. It only takes a few minutes to encrypt
your wireless, so it's definitely worth the time. The most common encryption
standard for wireless is WPA2 and you can find information about getting
that done by doing a search for it with your favorite search engine.
25.) Not Using
Digital Signatures - We're almost done now! If you didn't know,
you can now use digital signatures at the end of your e-mails. Digital
signatures will help to prove where certain e-mails come from and who
they're sent by. They also make it a lot harder for anyone to modify your
signature and change all of your information around. It's very important
to use this type of signature when sending out sensitive e-mails. It will
keep both you and the receiver as safe as possible. You can find information
about getting your own digital signature by searching for the term with
any search engine.
So, there you have
it. The 25 most common e-mail mistakes. We've all done them and if we
haven't, we probably will. In today's world, it's hard not to make some
safety mistakes when dealing with your e-mail, but at least you now know
some things you can do to combat any insecurity. I hope this tip will
help to keep all of you just a little bit safer in the e-mail world!
~ Erin
Want To Comment On This Tip? Click Here! We'd love to hear from you :-)
Like These Tips? Get 'Em Free In Your E-mail
