AntiSpam Guide
How to Control Dangerous Spam Email
from: Debbie Jacobsen
For those unfamiliar with the term, spam is unsolicited, unwanted junk email that advertises everything from cheap bootlegged pharmaceuticals to disgusting pornographic websites. In addition to being a major nuisance and disk space hog, spam is quickly becoming very dangerous.
A growing number of cyber-criminals are now using spam in an attempt to hijack our computers, clean out our bank accounts, and steal any personal information they can get their hands on.
Spam is quickly becoming the tool of choice for a sophisticated type of cyber criminal known as a social engineer. These savvy thieves use clever wording, forged email sender addresses and fraudulent websites to lure us into the seedy side of the internet where spyware can be installed on our computers in the blink of an eye. This spyware can steal our personal information so the spammer can use it for personal gain. It can also turn our PC's into robots, where they are joined with other hijacked slave computers in order to form a "botnet". Botnets are used by the spammer to host fraudulent websites or to send even more spam emails, all without our knowledge.
Social engineers also use spam for phishing and pharming. Phishing spam usually appears to come from a financial institution, warning us that there is some sort of problem with our account. We are urged to click on a hyperlink within the message in order to log on and verify our credentials. The website that we are taken to looks exactly like the bank or credit card company site, only it isn't. This fraudulent site is a carbon copy of the real thing, and could very well be located on the other side of the world. When we enter our account logon credentials, we are actually giving this information to the spammer. The use of fraudulent websites to gather personal information is called pharming.
The number of phishing emails tripled between 2004 and 2005, and will continue to grow as cyber criminals refine their techniques in order to achieve higher and higher success rates. According to Sophos Labs, a global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, nearly 60% of users receive at least one phishing email a day and 22% receive five or more of these dangerous spam emails per day. The reason that phishing emails are so prevalent is because they work. Every day new users are robbed blind by social engineers who have lured them into the phishing or spyware trap.
There is nothing we as users can do to stop spam email, but there are several things we can (and should) do to control our exposure to it and to better protect our privacy and personal information.
* Use a good spam blocking program. This will not stop spam, but will filter it out before it hits our inbox. Spam cannot hurt you if you don't open it, and spam blocking software is very effective at putting spam in a special email folder designated for junk email where it can be deleted quickly.
* Use anti spyware software. Spyware is a silent thief because it installs secretly, runs quietly in the background, gathers personal information, and sends this information to the cyber-criminal - all without your knowledge. Spyware can also allow a thief to remotely control your PC and use it for criminal purposes, also without your knowledge. An anti spyware product will detect and remove existing spyware as well as prevent spyware.
* Use a personal firewall. Also known as a software firewall, this security software serves several useful purposes. It blocks intruders like hackers and remote control spyware commands, and prevents malicious software applications from sending data out of your computer and onto the internet. Many personal firewalls include privacy protection, which alerts you when you enter suspicious websites and also when someone is trying to gain access to information that you deem "confidential".
* Use an email program that offers protection against spyware and phishing scams. Mozilla Thunderbird is an excellent free email program that warns you when it detects suspicious email. Courier is another good program that offers similar protection.
* Keep your email client, operating system, and web browser updated with the latest security patches on a regular basis.
About the author:
Debbie Jacobsen is an information technology professional and author of the following computer security sites:
http://www.antivirus-firewall-spyware.com
http://mysecurepc.blogspot. com
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