Email Security - Tips for Keeping You Safe

Email is used by nearly everybody with a computer yet when you are new to email you often do not realise the potential dangers that can be involved. We have listed some tips below that will help not only those who are new to email but everyone who uses email to communicate.

- Use more then one email account:
A common trap that new users fall into is just using one email account for everything. You should always use at least two email accounts for your day to day communications. If you need to register to a site or a newsletter then use your second account for this. This helps to protect your primary good account from being flooded with spam. A good trick you can use is ten minute email . Ten minute email allows you to create a free temporary throw away account for ten minutes, just long enough to use for one off things.

- Think and check before you reply to emails:
Carefully read and re-read your email before sending it. People have been known to accidentally send confidential information etc to others by accidentally hitting reply all instead of just reply.

- Do not forward non important and or hoax emails:
If you receive an email warning you about a new dangerous virus or a shampoo that causes cancer, chances are it is a hoax. Forwarding non important emails wastes bandwidth and can cause unnecessary worry to the gullible.

- Do not fall for phishing scams:
Phishing is a scam carried out by hackers to steal victims passwords and identity.
Emails purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Once the user is at the fake site they are asked for login, password and even credit card numbers and pin numbers.

- Do not run files sent to you before you have scanned them:
Email is the perfect way for worms and trojans to be spread throughout the internet. Do not run a file unless you scan it with a virus scanner first. If you a suspicious about a file that scans clean, do not run it until you can get hold of the original sender to clarify what the file is and why they sent it.

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