Part I - E-mail Scams

We all get them. We all have even forwarded them. An e-mail arrives with that familiar chime from our pc speakers. It URGENTLY warns of a malicious virus, malware, or scam. Or better yet, you have won the Microsoft® lottery, are the lucky benefactor of a political refugee who is worth 8 billion dollars, among others. Mostly, these warnings are nothing more than e-mail hoaxes and scams.

The good news is that most of these e-mails merely cause lost time. The problem is that others are scams that have genuinely stolen money from good people or have caused pc infections. So, what to do?

  1. Do not randomly forward e-mails that warn of viruses and malware because doing so only proliferates the spam e-mails, which can be as problematic as viruses and malware.

    • I always check to see if the e-mail is legitimate or a hoax

    • Then I reply to the sender and all recipients to inform them about what I found.

    • See Number 5 below for methods of checking e-mails.

  2. Do not forward e-mails that suggest you will become rich by doing so because you won't.

  3. Do not respond to any e-mails that seek your assistance with the transfer or handling of large sums of money. These are scams and the scammers will ask for money before they send you your share of 8 billion dollars. Rest assured that whether you send them this money or not, you will never see your share of the money because it does not exists.

  4. NEVER EVER send personal information over the internet to unsolicited e-mails or to anyone you do not know and trust. Generally, your bank, credit card company, or lending institution will never request pin numbers or CV2 (see below) numbers. What is a cv2 number? Find out here.

    • This also includes your bank account number, your social security number, your pin number, your routing number, your credit card number.

    • Without the pin and/or CV2, options are more limited for the identity thief.

    • For more information about identity theft, click here.

  5. There are multiple methods and websites available to check the veracity of e-mails:

    • Hoax-Slayer® - This site provides information on e-mail hoaxes and scams.

    • Snopes® - the self-proclaimed definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.

    • Just Google® it.

  6. If you have any concerns that an e-mail is a hoax or a scam, then treat it as if it is one.

Part II - Viruses, Malware & Spyware

We all fear that our computer, or worse, our server, will become infected with either viruses or malware. So, in an effort to protect against those possibilities, we quixotically engage in Part I. But we also, and more fruitfully, employ other methods. Here are some tools available to assist in that process. All computers should have two critical pieces of software: virus protection and malware detection / protection. The following contains a list of available tools that can be used to assist in the ongoing effort to protect your pc and server:

  1. Anti-virus (free - $100)

    • AVG - AVG has varying layers of protection. The most basic, which is still robust, provided virus protection, link scanner, e-mail scanner among others. AVG also has paid subscriptions which afford additional protections which may include identity theft guard.

    • Kaspersky - another leading virus protection software that comes in free and paid versions.

    • Trend Micro - well known and trusted virus protection.

    • Symantec - well known and trusted virus protection.

    • Some internet providers provide free security suites to their customers.

    • The free versions usually cannot be installed as server editions. In other words, it cannot be installed on your server and then used by computers that connect to that server. If you choose to use a free version in a business environment, then it will need to be separately installed on each pc.

  2. Malware & Spyware

    • AdAware - The free version will scan your pc and remove malware, but it only scans when you tell it to. The paid version will actively monitor your system to prevent infection by malware. AdAware also has an available virus protection in its paid subscription.

    • Spybot - Search and Destroy - This malware product works similarly to AdAware. The free version will not actively monitor your system, but will scan and remove malware at the user's request.

    • Your pc prefers only one virus protection software. Unlike virus protection, your pc does not object to multiple Malware scanners. In fact, the definitions can be different for each so one may catch spyware/malware that the other misses.

    • AdAware and Spybot are both free for personal use, corporate use does require a yearly licensing fee.

    • Also, be aware that programs are available that purport to be anti-spyware and anti-malware, but they are spyware and malware. The lesson, only download from a trusted program and from a trusted site.

Some of these services are free. Others have different levels of protection that range in price from free to approximately $100.00. Obviously, the more you pay the broader the level of protection and each of the above sites will provide information on its product and services. Finally, generally, corporate users require annual fees.

The way to create a safer and more secure pc environment at home and at work is to become aware of the potential dangers, the steps to reduce those dangers, and the ways to verify or debunk scams and hoaxes. So, be careful out there and be sure to integrate into your pc environment protections against infections by viruses, malware, and spyware.