VIRUSES

Microsoft Outlook® and Microsoft Outlook Express® are actually open to attack through the Preview Pane® or the Reading Pane® as it is called in Outlook 2003® and Outlook 2007® . These are the split screens that show you the content of an E-mail message when you run your cursor over the message's name in your list of messages. What most don't realize is that by simply previewing an E-mail in Outlook® or Outlook Express®, your computer is at risk of catching a virus if that E-mail has a virus infected attachment. We therefore strongly recommend that you immediately turn off your Preview Pane® or Reading Pane® and make sure that your incoming mail is inspected by your anti-virus program. Microsoft Outlook 2003 users can then select the Autopreview feature under View once the Reading Pane® has been turned off but keep it off in the Junk Mail Folder because of self-extracting programs. To turn the Preview Pane® off in Outlook Express®, left click the View tab and then left click on Layout. After that all you do is remove the checkmark beside Show preview pane, left click on Apply and then left click on OK. To turn the Reading Pane® off in Outlook 2003®, first select (highlight) the Inbox mail folder, left click the View tab, left click on Reading Pane and then left click on Off. After that follow the same procedure for the Deleted items mail folder. In Outlook 2007®, simply click on the icon after highlighting each mail folder in turn.

STRANGE E-MAIL

E-mail virus creators and spam creators have become more and more creative over the last few years and thus we recommend that you delete all strange E-mail messages before opening them. Sometimes these messages seem to be legitimate and quite tempting with subject lines such as The Mail Administrator, Returned Mail, and The Post Office but they are usually fake and often dangerous.

ATTACHMENTS

To be totally safe, be very careful with attachments as they could contain viruses. Never open an attachment unless you actually know it is coming and that especially includes attachments from friends, relatives, the mail administrator, the post office or business associates.

SPAM WEB BEACONS

An added benefit to turning off the Preview Pane® or Reading Pane® has to do with spam E-mail messages. Often these messages have a very small (usually a 1 pixel by 1 pixel), transparent (invisible) GIF picture in them. It is known as a web beacon or a web bug and it has a little software program embedded in it. Keep in mind however that this program could be embedded in any picture. Spammers tend to use this pre-made GIF bug however because it is small, unobtrusive and invisible thereby making it very easy to put into all of their spam messages. When you view or preview a spam message with the bug, your E-mail client has to get external content from the spammers server and this confirms that your E-mail address is real and active. In other words by using the bug, they have found a real person, you, who looked at their spam E-mail and thus they had better get you to the top of all their spam mailing lists as soon as possible. (In reality these lists are automatically administered by software programs.) Because you turned off your preview or reading pane in your E-mail account, you get the chance to delete all of these spam E-mail messages without ever opening them. Thus the spammers get no information back from your E-mail account and, after a period of time, they will believe they have found an address which is spam filtered, invalid or out of date. As a result you will be dropped from their mailing lists. Cool huh? That's one for the good guys. Note that Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Outlook Express 2003/SP-2 ® block images and external content by default. To check or change this setting, click on the Change Automatic Download Settings button on the Security tab of the Options button in the Tools menu.

REPLIES TO SPAMMERS

We recommend that you never reply to or contact a spammer. If you write a spammer and ask him or her to have you taken off their list, you have just guaranteed that you will be on that list for a long time to come. Just ignore their messages and be patient. Ultimately they will give up on you.

ACCIDENTAL REPLIES TO SPAMMERS

Another way that spammers learn of your active E-mail address is by you unwittingly replying to their spam E-mail messages. In Outlook 2003®, select the Options button in the Tools menu, click on the E-mail Options button, then click on the Tracking Options button. Make sure that the option Always send a response is NOT checked and if it is, uncheck it to stop automatically sending E-mail confirmations to spammers. Older versions of Outlook® will have something quite similar to this. Recent versions of Outlook Express® also have the ability to automatically supply return receipts . Select the Options button from from the Tools menu and click on the Receipts tab. Then make sure that the option Never Send a Read Receipt has been selected.

DON'T FORWARD MAIL

Protect your friends, family and business associates from prying eyes by following this simple procedure.

(1) Create a mail account named Undisclosed Recipients with your primary E-mail address. (2) When you send out an E-mail, never forward. Instead, cut and paste from the E-mail or information you received so that you actually create a new E-mail message. (3) Address this new E-mail message to your new mail account Undisclosed Recipients and blind copy everybody else. In this way you get a confirmation copy and everybody else gets a blind copy so they will only see their E-mail address, your E-mail return address and the name Undisclosed Recipients. Thus they will know the E-mail is from you but they will not see any of the other addresses.

It doesn't get any easier than this.

PFISHING or PHISHING

Phishing or phishing is a scam to find what can be stolen from you and then to steal it. Here are some good rules for protecting yourself from pfishing:

1. Never respond to an E-mail that looks like it came from your bank or any of your credit card issuers, no matter how official it appears. Phishing scam E-mails will tell you that there is some problem with your account and that you have to click on an embedded link to correct that problem. They may threaten to close your account, or report you to the credit bureau, if you do not respond. DON'T DO IT. Don't call the telephone number that appears in the E-mail either. Get out one of your old bank or credit card statements and instead call the number that appears there. Explain what the E-mail says and follow the directions that you receive from a real and live employee. Chances are they'll tell you its a scam. 2. Never give your bank account information, credit card numbers, Social Security number, Social Insurance number, passwords, personal identification numbers (PIN), or Date of Birth to anyone who asks you for that information by E-mail. No legitimate company will expect you to reveal sensitive information via email. Moreover no company that issues you a PIN will ever ask you to reveal that PIN to any of their employees. 3. Never respond to any offer to buy anything by clicking on the link in the E-mail. Even if the E-mail looks like it comes from your favorite department store, it still might be a scam. To avoid being hooked by pfishing, type in the URL to the department store by yourself, never use a link. Go to Google® to look it up if you don't already know it. 4. Forward copies of all pfishing E-mails to the actual company or bank that is being imitated by the scammers. 5. If a Pfishing E-mail seems particularly threatening or worrisome to you, you should report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center in the United States or RECOL (RCMP) in Canada. 6. If it's too late because you have already provided any of your personal information, account numbers, or PINs, you should immediately contact your banks and credit card companies to make arrangements with them to protect your financial interests. These companies and institutions are familiar with these scams and they know what needs to be done. 7. If you receive evidence of identity theft, such as unauthorized charges on your credit card bills, or unexplained transactions in your bank account, contact the police and file a report. Be sure to get a copy of the report for your own records and to send to the companies that are involved in the transactions. In the United States, you also need to contact all three major credit bureaus (Equifax at 800-525-6285, Experian at 888-397-3742 and TransUnion at 800-680-7289) and tell them that you need a fraud alert placed on your credit file.