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Computer Security Essentials for Everyone

EMail Security and Spam Blockers

A large percentage of internet security threats are introduced into your computer via email.  Whether in the form of an attachment, spam, or embedded graphic file that triggers adware or spyware installation, the act of checking email has become a risky process.  Computer viruses, spyware and phishing scams all use email as a host, often appearing very innocent-looking in your inbox.  In addition to using antivirus software, a spyware remover and firewall, there are many things that you can do to avoid potential trouble in the form of email.  Below we will explore each type of threat and what you can do to protect yourself from it.

Computer Virus

Just about everyone who uses the internet uses email of some type, which is why e-mail is the method of choice for many cyber criminals. Most computer viruses are transmitted via email, sent in the form of attachments.  Anti virus software, if regularly updated, will protect you from the majority of email-borne viruses.  Because new viruses are introduced into the internet every day, the only way to ensure protection is to update your antivirus product every time you get online.  This is easy to do if you use an anti virus program with an auto-update feature.  Because computer viruses spread via email, your virus will infect all your friends PC's by sending them the virus too.  If an attachment containing a virus is not opened, it usually cannot harm you.  Never open an attachment from someone you don't know, and never open an attachment that you are uncertain of - just delete it. 

Spyware

Spyware is also transmitted via email.  Spyware is not a virus, so antivirus programs cannot detect it.  Spyware will not spread to others, it only affects your computer.  It can be extremely dangerous though, as spyware is the tool of choice for cyber criminals who want to steal your personal information and/or identity.  Spyware is often transmitted via email in the form of a hyperlink that takes you to an unscrupulous website or an embedded hyperlink included in a graphic.  Spyware has become so prevalent on the internet today that it is now a recommended practice to use anti spyware software in conjunction with a good anti virus product.  It is hard to avoid getting spyware, as it installs quickly without your knowledge.  To help minimize the risk of installing spyware, set your email preferences to plain text (not html, which allows hyperlinks), and do not allow graphics to show in emails.  Never click on hyperlinks within email documents either, unless you are certain they will take you to a reputable website.  Software firewalls with privacy protection also help with spyware, as they notify you when personal information is about to be transmitted over the internet.

Phishing

Phishing is a type of internet security threat that is quickly becoming commonplace.  Criminals send emails with a fake (spoofed) sender address to disguise themselves as reputable businesses such as banks and credit card companies.  The email normally informs you of some activity with your account, and requests that you click the hyperlink and log in for verification.  The link takes you to a website that looks just like the company's "official" website, but it is not.  The phishing criminal has taken you to a copy of the real website and you are now on his site somewhere across the world.  Once there, spyware will usually quickly install on your computer, allowing the thief access to personal information on your computer.  If you log in to this fake website, you have just given the criminal your name, account number  and password.  With this data he has access to all your personal information, and possibly all your money.  Your bank account can be wiped out in the blink of an eye, or your identity stolen and used for personal gain. 

Phishing is an extremely dangerous computer security threat, and there is no product that can totally protect you from it, although a good personal firewall can help.  A software firewall with privacy protection allows helps safeguard your account information, as well as passwords.  If kept updated, a personal firewall will also notify you of potentially dangerous websites.  The best protection against phishing scams is to never click on links in emails.  Setting your email preference to plain text, will prevent you from absentmindedly clicking on a dangerous hyperlink.  If you think your bank needs you to verify something, open up your web browser and type in the official website address.  This guarantees that you will end up on the real website.

A Word About Email Clients

As most people use a Microsoft Windows operating system, the majority of computer viruses and email criminal activity is targeted towards Microsoft products.  Hackers and cyber-thieves that develop scams and malicious software want to reach the widest possible pool of potential victims, so they often target Outlook and Outlook Express email users.  Outlook Express is a free email client that is built into Windows, so the majority of malicious activity is aimed at these email clients.  To reduce the chance of risk with Outlook products, download Windows updates regularly to ensure that all known "security holes" are fixed.  An even better option is to switch email clients.  Using a lesser-known program for email automatically reduces the risk of exposure to a large number of security threats that are targeted towards the users of Microsoft products. 

If you want to keep using Outlook or Outlook Express for email, there are products available to help make these products safer.  ZAPaSPAM for Outlook and ZAPaSPAM for Outlook Express are two such products.  This is a permission-based software that incorporates a digital certificate technology that absolutely prevents message deliveries from unauthorized senders.  ZAPaSPAM is not only very effective at stopping spam, but helps protect you from phishing scams, spyware and viruses by blocking mail from unknown senders.  Both versions include parental controls to help protect children from unsavory email as well.

Recommended Spam Blockers

 Virus protection, Personal Firewall Plus, SpamKiller & Privacy Service. Get it all for only $49.99.

	MailWasher Pro allows you to preview multiple accounts and all aspects of your e-mail before you download it. It also allows you to delete and bounce e-mail back to the originator. The sender will receive an e-mail saying the address is unknown. Another feature helps identify and mark e-mail as normal, virus, possibly virus, possibly spam, probably spam, chain letter, and blacklisted, so you can deal with the e-mail as you wish. Other features are comprehensive customizable filters, use of public blacklists to identify spammers, multiple accounts, and much more. MailWasher Pro is compatible with POP3/Hotmail/MSN/AOL/IMAP.
	Computer Associates eTrust Anti-Spam is one of the absolute best spam filters you can buy.  It is extremely easy to use, and effectively blocks messages from people you don't know while allowing messages from people you do know.  If you've been fighting with excessive amounts of spam in your inbox and are ready for some relief, this spam blocker will take care of the problem!  CA Anti-Spam has won the PC Magazine Editors Choice Award for three years now.  It's an excellent product and we highly recommend it!
	I Hate Spam by Sunbelt Software is designed to do one thing, and one thing only - block and filter annoying and dangerous spam.  This is a terrific product by a company that is known for developing outstanding computer security software.  I Hate Spam is available for a free trial download so you can see for yourself how good it is before you invest any money.  This anti spam product runs on all Windows operating systems and supports just about every email client.

PhishGuard - Phishguard is a free browser add on that helps identify phishing scams that appear in email.  This is a free utility that notifies you if certain emails may be phishing scams.  Phishing is when you receive an email that looks legitimate (like from a bank), but it's not.  Clicking on the link in the email or responding with information leads you to a bogus site that collects your personal information for personal gain.  Available for Windows Explorer and Firefox.

Nod32 has an excellent spam blocker for protection against phishing scams.  In addition it provides anti spyware, and anti virus protection too.  You can download it for free and try it for 30 days. 

Alternative Email Programs

Several good alternative email clients are available, some even for free.  An excellent free email program is Mozilla's  Thunderbird, which even notifies you of potential phishing scams.  Eudora is another alternative to Outlook Express, and comes in a free as well as paid version.  Courier is an award winning alternative to Microsoft email, with the ability to turn off dangerous HTML hyperlinks and encrypted address book.  It is immune to email worms that harvest email addresses and propagate by sending mail to everyone you know, thus infecting them too.  Courier is free, and also comes in a paid version that offers support and enhancements.

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