Email Protection/Security

In this day and age email is fast becoming a preferred form of communication. At Burley Attwood Law we ensure up to date antivirus protection within our network to provide our clients with security so that we can communicate by email.

To follow we offer some handy hints to note when using email and the internet.

Suspicious Email

Spam seems to be an every day occurrence for most people in their pc user’s life. In most cases we think that by simply installing antivirus software, with the intention of protecting our home computers, we have this base covered. Don’t be so sure; the following information will help keep your bug antennae alert to suspicious emails and their sometimes fatal attachments.

Firstly, when receiving emails, look to determine the sender to see if they seem suspicious. If you are unsure whether the email is from a legitimate sender, if possible contact the presumed sender and ask them if they have sent you an email. In most cases fake emails, or phishing scams, as they are commonly known, will use a phony email address very similar to one that is in your contacts list (or even very similar to your own). Even if it seems to be legitimately from your bank, or other safe senders, the time it takes to make the telephone call will cost you much less than replacing or repairing your computer due to virus infection.

Secondly, do not respond to a suspicious email or click any links in a suspicious email. Clicking on links can often take you to phony sites that encourage you to submit financial or personal information.

Banking Websites

We have seen a rise recently in banking phishing (phony email) whereby a fake organisation sends an email at random containing a link which then requests the user to enter their login and confirm personal details and passwords. BEWARE, the best advice in this instance is to delete the email immediately, go to your banking login screen by typing the address directly into the browser bar or via your personal bookmarks. This ensures that you are directed to the correct site and not a phony site, as has been seen so many times in recent banking scams in New Zealand. If there are any security alerts these will usually be displayed on the home page of the relevant banking institution website.

If you are still unsure, check the Security Certificate. This can be done by double clicking the padlock icon displayed on the status bar as shown in the following example:

The closed lock icon indicates that the Web site uses encryption to help protect sensitive or personal information entered, such as your credit card number. This symbol will show on any page that is requesting personal information, check the name the certificate is issued to matches the name of the website, if it doesn’t again beware it is probably a scam.

Computer Updates

We recommend that you keep your computer updated with the latest patches and antivirus at all times.

Burley Attwood Law | Topics of Interest | Email Protection/Security