4 Email Account Security Tips

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Chris Chase

submitted by Peter Chronis

These days criminals are using a variety of techniques to compromise and gain access to accounts across the Internet. They then often use these compromised accounts to send spam or gain unauthorized access to a victim’s private information (emails, banking information, etc.).

Just take a look at all the recent stories about stolen passwords and hacked accounts from some of the most popular sites on the Internet today.

To reduce the risk of getting your accounts hacked into or compromised, we recommend that you take the following precautions to protect yourself:

1. Be Careful What You Click
Never reply to emails or click on email links that ask for your username and password. Our spam prevention partners have tracked a significant increase in phishing worldwide. Criminals often use phishing scams to help gather credentials. Phishing is a term used to describe false emails sent from spammers claiming to be sent from a legitimate company (for example, EarthLink or well-known banks) and asking for your username and password. These fraudulent emails may look quite authentic – so beware.

2. Use Varying Usernames and Passwords
Don’t use the same username and password across multiple sites like email, banking and social network sites. Recent security research revealed that, on average, people use the same credentials to log into 49 different sites. Email usernames and passwords can be acquired from security breaches suffered by other service or product providers (tens of millions of credentials have been reported this year alone by other service or product providers). If you are using the same password for your EarthLink account as other accounts that were breached, then spammers may use this information to access your EarthLink email and send spam.

For these reasons, it’s good to have a system to generate strong, unique passwords for all the sites you use. Just follow these three simple steps.

You can change your EarthLink password here at any time.

3. Run an Antivirus Program to Curb Malware Infections
Some malware today is designed to run stealthily on your computer while it records the usernames and passwords to sites you access (your Web Mail, online banking, etc.). Some security firms are reporting malware infection rates as high as 1 in 3 computers worldwide. To protect yourself, the first step is to run an antivirus scan on your computer. This can be done with any antivirus program of your choice. EarthLink offers Norton 360 Online as a premium antivirus subscription with a Free 30-Day Trial if you want to check it out.

4. Choose Your Secret Hint and Word Wisely
A secret word or hint is often used to verify your identity when account changes are being made. You should not use information associated with you that is readily available on the Internet or through other sources. If you are unsure, try doing a quick Internet search for yourself to see what you can find. If you can find it, so can a hacker.

Stay safe out there and never hesitate to reach out if you have additional questions around email or password security.

For further support from EarthLink, visit our Knowledgebase Support Center.

6 Ways to Spot Spam

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Chris Chase

1. Requests for Personal Information
No professional organization will ask for your social security, bank, check, or PIN number in an e-mail. Mark these emails as SPAM and delete them promptly without responding.

2. Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

The worse the spelling and grammar, the more likely it’s a SPAM email. Delete and move on.

3. Click-able Links
Don’t trust links in e-mails. What might look like a legitimate link is often linked to a third-party site that looks official, but is actually run by the emailing scammers. For example, if you get an email that looks like it’s from your bank telling you your account is closed, type your usualy banking URL into your browser to check it directly (instead of clicking the link in the email). You may find that the email is SPAM. Mark it as such and delete it.

4. Attachments in e-mails from anyone you don’t know
Never open an attachment from someone you don’t know. It’s likely a virus or spyware that will sit on your computer to steal your personal information.

5. Outdated Info
Some scammers like to pretend to be customer support from a company you trust, but slip up when it comes to accuracy. For example, in the picture, the below, the spammers forgot Earthlink bought Mindspring in 2000.

6. Alarming Phrases
“Verify your account,” “you won!” or “if you don’t respond in __ hours, your account will be locked” are phrases that ONLY appear in SPAM. Mark it and delete without clicking or replying.

Business Email Etiquette

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Chris Chase

Once a company gets its online presence (designs their site, has a web hosting plan, etc) chances are they are going to want to communicate with customers through email.

If a customer emails you with a question, the risk of your reply being considered spam is practically nonexistent. But if you send out emails (either advertisements, helpful info, or updates), there are some steps you need to take to make sure your customers (and potential customers) don’t think of your message as spam:

1) Send Messages From an Understandable Email Address

If customers visit “www.YourCompanySiteABC.com” to learn about and purchase your products, your email addresses should all be “@YourCompanySiteABC.com”. If messages are being sent from another domain (like “YourCompanySiteABC@gmail.com”), many customers might not trust the emails. If you need help getting domain email, EarthLink has you covered!

1b) Use a “White Listed” Service

If you’re going to be sending out mass emails, make sure you use a service that has a good reputation, (If you send out too many messages, your URL can be “black listed” for sending spam, just based on volume) Constant Contact is an example of such a service.

2) Never Require Personal Information in a Reply

Never ask a customer to reply to an email with personal information. Have them log into your site to submit (if you have that functionality), or call you directly.

3) Only Include Links to Your Website

Only send people, through email links, to places on your website they have seen before. If you try to send them somewhere else, be prepared to get a low response OR calls wondering what you’re doing.

4) Check, Double Check, and Triple Check Your Spelling/Grammar

Spelling mistakes are often a sign of spam, so avoid this by double checking your text.

5) Be To-the-Point

The more to-the-point your email is, the more people will read it. If you include long passages of “convincing language,” your email may come across as desperate (which is how many scammers come across).

6) Don’t Email Too Much

Even legitimate companies can spam (over-communicate and flood inboxes. We recommend once to three times a month at maximum.

Don’t Be Mistaken for Spam

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Chris Chase

Once a company gets its online presence (designs their site, has a web hosting plan, etc) chances are they are going to want to communicate with customers through email.

1) Email From a Recognizable Address

If customers visit “www.YourCompanySiteABC.com” to buy your products, your email addresses should all be “@YourCompanySiteABC.com”. If they’re not, many customers might not trust the emails. If you need help getting domain email, EarthLink has you covered!

1b) Use a “White Listed” Service

If you’re going to be sending out mass emails, make sure you use a service that has a good repuatation, (If you send out too many, your URL can be “black listed” for sending spam, just based on volume) Constant Contact is an example of such a service.

2) Never Ask for Personal Information

Never ask a customer to reply to an email with personal information. Have them log into your site to submit (if you have that functionality), or call you directly.

3) Only Link to Your Website

4) Check, and Double Check, Your Spelling/Grammar

Spelling mistakes are often a sign of spam, so avoid this by double checking your text.

5) Keep it Short

6) Don’t Email Often

Even legitimate companies can spam (over-communicate and flood inboxes. We recommend once to three times a month at maximum.