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For your Safety and Security |
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Secure
your messages
Watch that in-box! E-mail and instant messages are perhaps
the most insecure missives you can send. Hackers can steal,
tamper with, or intercept e-mail, or worse, impersonate
your instant-messenger identity and start sending nasty
notes to your family and friends. Secure your messages with
these handy tips.
Sign and encrypt it
Encrypted e-mail signature tools, usually part of any good
encryption package, inform you if anyone tampers with your
e-mail while it is en route. Encryption packages encrypt
your mail and let you send online decryption keys--the
code to unlocking your e-mail and making it readable again--to
your recipients.
Make it anonymous
Your e-mail message headers can cause a security breach,
too. Hackers sometimes use header information to trace your
messages back to their origins--namely, your computer. How
do they do it? Every e-mail message carries important information
about the originating computer, such as its IP address and
the route it traveled from the sender to the recipient.
To see this info for yourself, say, in Outlook Express,
right-click any message in your in-box, select Properties,
and click the Details tab. Voilà! You'll see the
message header. To cover your tracks when you're sending
sensitive e-mail, use a service to strip all header information
from outgoing messages.
Protect your IM sessions
Instant-messaging programs are surprisingly insecure. Someone
can easily intercept your messages or even steal your online
identity, either to obtain important information or simply
to make hay out of your personal relationships. Hide
your IP address, remain invisible to everyone but your buddies,
and provide as little information as possible when you
register. Don't, for example, fill in profile information
such as your e-mail address, home address, phone number,
or other details.
Compress and protect
If you must send e-mail attachments, make sure they arrive
safely. You can add a level of security by compressing
attachments and adding a password so that only the intended
recipient can decompress the file.
Check for patches
As with any software, keep abreast of security patches and
updates to your e-mail or instant-messaging software. Microsoft
issues seemingly continuous security updates for Outlook,
and most software Web sites keep you informed about patches
and holes in your e-mail client. Most of all, be safe!
If you're sending extremely private information, encrypt
it every time. Don't send passwords or credit card information
via e-mail, especially not through instant messengers.
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