The document discusses best email security practices, emphasizing the importance of being cautious with attachments and links to prevent malware infections. It highlights how cybercriminals often use social engineering techniques, like phishing scams, to trick individuals into revealing personal information. Users are advised to keep personal information private, update their software regularly, and use reliable antivirus programs to ensure email safety.

1. Best e-Mail Security Practices
Using Email Safely
E-mail is everywhere. The system which allows messages
(along with attachments, such as photos or
documents) to be sent to a person or multiple person changed
the way people and businesses
communicate. For instance, a document that once had to be
faxed, mailed through the postal service,
or even scanned in and loaded on to a disk to be hand delivered
could now be sent almost
instantaneously.
The email system that most people know today grew out of the
late 1980s, when Internet service
providers such as Prodigy and AOL provided all-in-one
products for the masses, with e-mail, instant
messaging, games, news headlines, and eventually Internet
access. More tech-savvy computer users
had more advanced Internet service providers, which may have
only provided access to e-mail that
could be used with a dedicated program, such as Microsoft
Outlook.
But with the beginning of email came the beginning of
cybercrime looking to exploit the system to
spread malware and scam an unsuspecting public. Whereas
cybercriminals once had to rely on
spreading viruses by hand via floppy discs or to only users who
patched into dial-up local bulletin board
systems, the dawn of email then gave them a chance to spread

2. malware to the masses.
Although e-mails can be used to spread malware, there are
security practices a computer user can
employ to make themselves and their computers safe.
Be wary of all attachments and links
When strictly speaking of e-mail, the most dangerous ways
malware can be passed on is through
attachments and harmful links. Computer viruses specifically
need to be attached to a form of
executable code in order for its trap to be sprung.
Cybercriminals therefore will implant viruses on
seemingly desirable files (such as a PowerPoint presentation
with beautiful photography) and send it on
to a few people, knowing it will continue to be passed on. Once
the PowerPoint file is executed by a
target, the virus will be executed as well, and begin to do its
damage.
This brings up two points. First, any attachment – especially
ones that have been forwarded on and on
– can harbor dangerous malware. And even if the file itself isn’t
dangerous, and malware implanted on a
computer can act as a beacon to other cybercriminals for them
to know this computer can easily be
attacked again. Secondly, and more importantly, many computer
experts will warn users to be wary of
attachments from unfamiliar people. However, the fact that e-
mails that come from friends – whether
forwarded on purpose or because of a virus – can in fact contain
malware.
Only open attachments that can be verified that was delivered
directly from a reliable source. And
never open or forward any chain emails. Delete them

3. immediately.
Don’t be fooled
Oftentimes, cybercriminals don’t have to worry about whether a
target computer is protected or not.
They use social engineering techniques to trick people into
giving up their private information without
any malicious software.
Most commonly in e-mail form, this comes in phishing.
Phishing is when a cybercriminal uses a
reasonable facsimile of an e-mail that looks like it may have
come from an honest business. These may
be an online banking service, an online retailer (like eBay), or
the target’s Internet service provider.
However, these emails usually ask for information that a
reputable business would never ask of their
customers, such as login and password information or a Social
Security number.
Other types of social engineering such as 419 Scams operate in
much the same way, except they
aren’t as polished as phishing. These scams send out farcical e-
mails, such as a Nigerian prince needing
to escape his war-torn nation, that implores the target to wire
the sender some money, and they will
be rewarded with riches beyond their dreams. Most people
understand that this is a sham, but they
only need one or two people to fall for it in the thousands of e-
mails sent out in order to make
thousands of dollars.
If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Learning
about these kinds of scams can help
protect users and make their e-mail more secure.

4. Keep personal information private
The College of New Jersey made an interesting point when
explaining e-mail safety. Many people think
of emails as secure and private. This is just not so, especially
with cybercriminals who are far more
technically advanced than the average computer user. The
college made this analogy: Think of writing
an e-mail as writing a message on a postcard with a pencil. Any
e-mail can be viewed and changed.
Never put any personal information in any e-mail, even if the
recipient is a reliable source.
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Safety precautions
It also helps to keep a computer’s operating system software up
to date. This will keep computers
fixed with the latest patches that correct known vulnerabilities
in the software. Also, use subscription-
based antivirus software, such as Norton AntiVirus. This
antivirus software features e-mail scans that
can warn users if an attack is coming through messages.
Keep these suggestions in mind when sending e-mails to make
sure to have a secure experience.

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