We live and die by our computers, smart phones, and tablets. We bank and conduct thousands of dollars of business every day online. We connect via Bluetooth to our cars and wireless speakers and headphones. We are on Snapchat, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Musicly, and a bunch of other sites 24/7, but it’s time to revisit a basic basic --- email. I personally receive over 200 emails a day regularly, but it wasn’t until I got hacked (this morning!) that I finally changed my password after almost 2 years.
How long has it been for you? I would bet most people haven’t changed in
over a year on their email alone! Here
are some basic tips for safer email as suggested by Deborah Gales of Red Earth
Software, Inc. along with, of course, changing your password on a regular
basis!
1. Stop Spam &
Phishing Emails
Spam is not only a nuisance; it can also
pose security risks. Phishing emails entice recipients to click on malicious
links and provide credentials or confidential information, which can result in
security breaches.
2. Use a Multi-Antivirus
Scanner
With new threats being introduced daily, it
is important to use multiple antivirus engines in order to increase the rate of
detection and reduce the window of vulnerability. Since email is one of the
main sources of malware, it is advisable to use a fast performance
multi-antivirus scanner to scan incoming email attachments for email-borne
threats. Read more about why multi-scanning is
essential for email security.
3. Check for Confidential
Content
Make sure that no confidential content is
sent via email by checking emails and attachments for sensitive information
such as social security numbers and credit card data.
4. Prevent Targeted
Attacks
Zero-day and targeted attacks can go
undetected by anti-malware engines, since they are only sent out to specific
groups and individuals. In order to protect against these unknown threats,
email attachments should be "sanitized" by converting to a different
file format and removing any possible embedded threats. For instance, by
converting a Word file to PDF, any potentially harmful scripts can be removed.
5. Check Internal Emails
Malware is usually found in emails coming
from external sources, but if an employee's machine gets infected, malicious
emails can be sent via internal email. Employees are also more likely to click
on an infected email attachment if it is from a co-worker. For this reason, it
is important to ensure that your email security solution also scans internally
sent emails.
6. Train Employees
Train your employees not to click on links
or open attachments from unknown senders. Even if the email is from a known
sender but somehow looks out of the ordinary, teach your employees to be
cautious. In addition, have an email policy in place that lists the dos and
don'ts of email use. Read more about how to create an
email policy and download a sample policy.
7. Block Emails with Many
Recipients
Instead of using an email marketing tool,
some employees might decide to send one email and include all recipients in the
To:, Cc:, or Bcc: field, for instance to inform customers about a new
promotion. This can result in unintended exposure of valuable client contacts,
damage to reputation, and privacy breach claims. Emails with more than 15
recipients should therefore be blocked at the server level before they can do
any damage.
8. Block Large Email
Attachments
Emails should not contain attachments that
are larger than 10 MB. An email that's bigger than 10 MB will most probably not
arrive, and the recipient might not even get an undeliverable message back. In
the worst case, a large email attachment can bring a whole network to a halt.
To prevent this from happening, set an email policy to block large emails and
notify the sender, providing alternate methods for sending large files.
9. Archive Emails
Make sure that you keep a backup of your
emails, so that if a disaster should occur, you can still revert to your
backup. In addition to using backup tapes, check if your email security
solution also provides mail backup functionality.
10. Add Legal Footer
To comply with regulations, make sure that
each email that is sent out includes the necessary legal footer.
Remember that your internet safety is just
that --- yours!
The Simonson Team is always here to help
give you great advice, whether for internet safety or buying or selling your
dream home. Call us today for a fast and
simple evaluation to help you with your real estate needs! 303-229-6026!
