How to Protect Your Computer
We all use email to communicate, so it’s important that we take steps to avoid becoming a victim of an email phishing or malware attack. When you identify such an attempt, delete the email and take no further action.
WHAT IS PHISHING?
Phishing emails claim to be from a reputable company in an attempt to trick recipients into revealing personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
HOW TO GUARD AGAINST PHISHING
When reviewing emails, use these guidelines to protect against phishing:
- Aristotle has no mailbox limits. If any email claims that you have exceeded your mailbox size and threatens deletion, then it is not legitimate.
- Aristotle will never ask for your password. Avoid answering ANY email that asks for login information for an online account unless you issued a password reset request.
- Compare the sending email address to the sender. If the sending address does not match with the sender’s name, then it may not be legitimate.
- Don’t reuse passwords. It is best practice not to use your email account password for any other account. Websites may sell user information or be vulnerable to hacking.
- Update your passwords regularly. Make sure that all passwords are at least 8 characters long and include numbers, capital letters, and special characters.
- When in doubt, contact Aristotle.
NOT SURE IF AN EMAIL IS PHISHING?
Contact us to confirm an email is legitimate before taking action.
WHAT IS MALWARE?
Malware is any software written to infect and harm the host system or its user. Some examples include:
- Viruses
- Worms
- Spyware
- Ransomware
WHAT IS A COMPUTER VIRUS?
A computer virus is software designed to copy itself and spread to other devices. Viruses can damage files or hard drives, spew out spam emails, as well as other unwanted activities. They can be transmitted by email attachments, infected websites, and removable storage devices.
HOW CAN I GUARD AGAINST MALWARE?
When reviewing emails, use these guidelines to protect against malware:
- Install a trusted antivirus software. A trusted antivirus app that’s updated with the latest virus definitions is your best preventative tool for thwarting email malware.
- Keep your computer and apps up to date. Regularly update and patch mail clients, web browsers and operating systems.
- Scan all attachments with an antivirus app.
- Avoid opening attachments from unknown sources (or when not expecting an attachment). Be especially wary of executable files including .EXE, .COM, .CMD.
- Never click on links in the body of email messages.
- Watch for suspicious text in emails. Some infected emails contain text which doesn’t make sense, contains grammatical errors, or includes strange characters/gibberish which can help notify the user of danger.
- Set your email service to display a text preview. Content previews give you a glance at the content without having to click on the email.
- Compare the sending email address to the sender. If the sending address does not match with the sender’s name, then it may not be legitimate.
- Avoid forwarding emails unless you have verified that they are legitimate.
- Be cautious sharing your email address. In the wrong hands it can be used to send a convincing email containing a virus or phishing attempt.
- Close pop-up ads by right-clicking on them in the Windows taskbar. The “X” in the corner of ads can sometimes be used to trick the user into downloading malware.
- When in doubt, pause before taking action and contact Aristotle.
Not sure if an email contains a virus or malware?
Contact us to confirm an email is legitimate before taking action.