Internet security

Interesting Email I received today from our Administrative Officer... most of us are pretty savy, but just in case... share this with someone...

As you may have already heard about or read in open press today, the hacker group "Anonymous" has announced that it has stolen 90,000 email addresses as well as encrypted versions of passwords from US military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Don't worry too much about the passwords, they were encrypted and shouldn't be easily accessible by those who may have stolen them. However, the email addresses are a different story. They are valuable to hackers because they can be used to send spoof emails designed to entice you into clicking on a link to download malicious software.

If you are a savvy email and Internet user, you probably already know to dismiss these tricks without thinking - refraining from opening emails from people that you don't know; refraining from going to websites with which you are unfamiliar. Especially on Government computers. Here are several guidelines that should help you better understand when not to click:

1. There is no such thing as a free meal. Simply disregard any "incredible" or "to good to believe" offers, no matter how well designed they may be. Do not click on links that promise to take you to wonderland or make you wealthy.

2. You may also be asked to check your system for errors, viruses or whatever. Again, your browser does not have the ability to perform any such activity and cannot inform you of any system errors. Therefore, any such link inside web pages is an attempt to entice you to click on a link that could download malicious software onto your computer or redirect you to an inappropriate site.

3. Links embedded in emails or Instant Messaging (IM) sessions should be treated with care. Never click on links received them from someone you don't know. Even if you receive links from people you do know and supposedly trust, you should still avoid clicking on links. If you must see what's behind the sent link, COPY it into the browser address bar.

4. Think before clicking. If you receive an email - or any other form of message - telling you should login to a certain website and approve, check, validate, or confirm your personal data, you should NEVER do this.



You can never be too careful....