Agony Uncle answers internet questions
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Your Question: Dear "Uncle Andy"
from time to time get an email saying "hacker" don't open - supposedly someone who can access your computer if you open attachment. I think I read somewhere there is a web to check authenticity of email, snopes?? Thanks Andy! Liz
Hi Liz. Its no secret that the internet is packed with scams and fraudsters
There are so many threats online these days it is often very difficult to spot what is genuine and what is not. I have trained myself to always think before I click and treat every email with suspicion especially be wary of an offer that looks too good to be true as it usually is! Delete anything that you are unsure about without opening. Right click email attachments and scan with anti-virus protection (Norton) before deciding whether or not to open it. Avoid the temptation to click on impulse or you might find you are somewhere online you didn’t want to be. Fortunately there are a number of websites we can go to find out about anything suspicious that lands in our inbox.
Phishing - in short, phishing site or emails are a copycat of a genuine site setup usually in order to extract your account usernames and passwords. Unfortunately, this type of online fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Never click on a link within any email that you feel is suspicious, especially those which request you to update or verify your account information. Instead, open a new internet browser and type in the web address of the site you want to visit. If you have an email open try hover over any links to see the underlying destination of the link.
Protect yourself
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/virus.asp as you point out
http://www.complaintsboard.com/ search this site to see complaints about companies, sites or software.
http://www.antispyware.com/ Antispyware is actually a spuware removal package but you can also check for dubious programs as well.
http://www.spywarevoid.com/ Helps you to remove spyware, adware and other malicious software from your computer. Offers decent information on the latest security threats and cyber safety related issues.
from time to time get an email saying "hacker" don't open - supposedly someone who can access your computer if you open attachment. I think I read somewhere there is a web to check authenticity of email, snopes?? Thanks Andy! Liz
Hi Liz. Its no secret that the internet is packed with scams and fraudsters
There are so many threats online these days it is often very difficult to spot what is genuine and what is not. I have trained myself to always think before I click and treat every email with suspicion especially be wary of an offer that looks too good to be true as it usually is! Delete anything that you are unsure about without opening. Right click email attachments and scan with anti-virus protection (Norton) before deciding whether or not to open it. Avoid the temptation to click on impulse or you might find you are somewhere online you didn’t want to be. Fortunately there are a number of websites we can go to find out about anything suspicious that lands in our inbox.
- Always have the most up-to-date antivirus software and firewalls
- Make sure your passwords are difficult to guess and contain a combination of letters and numbers.
- Never give your passwords to anyone.
- Never use the same usernames and passwords on different accounts
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/virus.asp as you point out
http://www.complaintsboard.com/ search this site to see complaints about companies, sites or software.
http://www.antispyware.com/ Antispyware is actually a spuware removal package but you can also check for dubious programs as well.
http://www.spywarevoid.com/ Helps you to remove spyware, adware and other malicious software from your computer. Offers decent information on the latest security threats and cyber safety related issues.
posted by Andy Holt @ 12:19 