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23 March
How To Spot Phishing And Improve Password Security
The Fight Against Spam Continues
by
SoftwareGuru
In a battle which Halo's Master Chief would have been proud of,
last week saw Microsoft achieve a
major win against spam.
They were able to dismantle the Rustock botnet spam email
network by filing legal action and using "a court order that
allowed it to work with US authorities to physically take the
affected servers from hosting providers."
One of the targets for spammers these days is to take control
over your social media accounts, or any other online profile you
have that might have bank details attached to it.
Considering how much time we spend online there's no excuse for
using weak passwords other than sheer laziness!
Security is an important issue and while we recommend
Kaspersky Internet Security to our customers, ultimately you
have to take responsibility for your own online passwords.
If you are a student and this advice all seems very obvious,
there's always The Onion's satirical take on privacy, "Entire
Facebook Staff Laughs As Man Tightens Privacy Settings".
All joking aside, always be careful with uploading personal
content to a website you don't control because you never know
when the security curtain could fall back unexpectedly.
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How To Spot
Phishing Emails
Anybody who has an email address will have seen those emails.
You know them as soon as they hit your inbox.
Some alleged long-lost relative has left you a fortune, and all
they need in return is your bank details.
You're just about to fish out that bank statement with your
account number when you think to yourself, “hey something is
wrong here, how come I'm their only known relative, what about
the rest of my family?”
While this may seem obvious to students and younger people, many
older web users as well as parents and grandparents can fall
victim to such scams.
Whenever you get an email asking you for any kind of
information, always be wary, use your common sense, and ask
questions to ensure you're dealing with the right people.
Known as phishing emails, these emails can often look genuine,
using logos and may often appear very professional.
There are a few things you can do to immediately see if you've
received a phishing email.
Check for spelling errors as well as poor grammar, look for a
contact number or address, and most importantly, check what
email address the message was sent from. Usually copy-pasting
the email address of the sender and googling it will reveal if
anyone else has complained about it. |
Outlook Advantages
It's also a good idea to
check your mail archive to see if the email address has
contacted you before.
Programs such as Microsoft Outlook 2011 for Mac can
easily help you stay organised and steer clear from phishing
emails.
It also comes with its own spam filter, re-directing suspicious
emails straight into its junk folder, making it easier for you
to forward on pictures of funny cats.
The most important way you can stay safe from phishing emails is
to use your common sense.
If some stranger knocked on your door and asked for your bank
details, you wouldn't immediately hand them your bank
statements.
It's the same online.
If someone pretending to be the bank contacts you, phone them
back and enquire.
And if you do phone them, use the number from the telephone
directory, not from the suspicious email. It's the same with
passwords.
Keep them safe and don't share them with anyone.
Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook isn't likely to contact you for your
login details.
Remember, always be wary whenever someone contacts you out of
the blue, and be sure to double-check before handing out any
information whatsoever.
Use
Outlook 2010 for PC or
Outlook 2011 for Mac to make it easier to filter spam and
spot phishing emails.
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Posted by
admin
at
11:19
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How To Spot Phishing And Improve Password Security