Computer and Software Support


Email Security

Today majority of people use email. There is many dangers in email. Here is some tips to protect yourself.

  1. Create an email account for junk. If a business, activity or an event requires you to provide an email address to them and you do not want regular correspondence from them, give them this email address. If it is a business or person you do want regular correspondence from and trust, give them your main email address. This way if a business or person gives your email address to a spammer, the spammer will get your junk email address. Since you do not use this email address for correspondence, it doesn't matter if they spam it. All the correspondence you do want goes to your primary email. Couple of things to know

    1. Create an actual email address. There is tons of different providers that you can get a free email address from (Yahoo, Hotmail and others) You can create as many email addresses you want for free.

    2.  Open the email box at least once a month. If you don't the provider will close the account. All you have to do, is select all and delete.

    3. You can also create an email address for occasional correspondence.

    4. Use this email on accounts such as Facebook and such so they won't get your primary email.

  2. When you email multiple people, Put your email address in the to field. Put everyone else's email in the BCC field.

    1. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy.

    2. This respects other peoples right to privacy and protects them from getting their email collected by a spammer.

    3. When you use the BCC the people in BCC's email is protected.

    4. For information on what BCC is and how to use it, click here.

  3. Forwarded emails are great. However when you forward an email, it also shares all the email addresses of people that was in the original correspondence. This allows a spammer to collect a bunch of email addresses. Also some people may not like their email address shared. Before forwarding an email, delete all the email addresses listed.

I use a secondary email address for Facebook and to register with stuff that I do not want to get correspondence with. If you want newsletters, or coupons sent to you, create an email just for that. That way your main email is protected.