When you receive an e-mail, do you become excited… or concerned? 
E-mail has become the dominant form of communication for our modern society, but it is also a doorway that criminal elements can use to take control of your computer, steal your money, spy on you or even copy your identity. Don’t assume an Anti-virus program will protect you. There are currently over 1 million known viruses — how many are unknown? Social engineering is used to entice you to read that joke, view those pictures, or click that link. To truly protect yourself you must change your behaviour. Below is a list of things you can do. The more you do on this list, the safer you are:
- Don’t click on links in e-mails. It may look like a link to youtube or your bank, but it may send you to another site. Just by visiting a site a virus could be installed on your computer, and then they redirect you to the original location; you would never know you’ve been compromised.
- Turn off e-mail preview. There are many viruses that can be received just by opening an e-mail. There is no difference between previewing an e-mail and opening it up.
- Turn off image display. On Windows systems, some viruses can come in just by showing an picture.
- Don’t open attachments, even from someone you know, unless they tell you ahead of time and it’s important to you. Their system could be compromised and is now trying to take over your computer!
- Don’t read/preview e-mails from people you don’t know. Better yet, change the settings in your e-mail program so you only receive e-mail from people currently in your contact list.
Changing behaviour is difficult. Some of us found it hard to get used to wearing a seat belt in a car, even though there was a huge benefit. Changing your behaviour could save you from a different kind of crash. E-mail is a fantastic way to stay in touch with people, just be careful what you touch.
Norman Davie – President