Internet & Email Safety Tips over Christmas Holidays

As Christmas and New Year holidays are approaching, number of SPAM and Hoax emails and spreading of malware especially ‘crypto-locker’ would surely be on rise like all previous years. Therefore, here is few safety tips for general users which could help them stay safe while browsing emails and Internet during holidays.

Do's

• Add a spam filter to your email.
• Check and verify full email address before opening any email.
• Preview your messages before you open them. 
• Create a secondary email address to use whenever you need to register for a web service or sign up for something.
• Use combination of numbers, letters and underscores while creating email address.
• Use strong password combining numbers, letters and alpha numeric characters.
• Use different passwords for different websites or email services.
• Avoid posting your email address or a link to it on web pages. 
• Read the site's privacy statement to verify if you can opt out of receiving unsolicited email.
• Always copy the link provided in email and paste in URL to open it.
• Check for Security Certificate verification sign at the bottom of the webpage.
• Enable JAVA and Cookies only for known sites.

Don't

• Open emails with subject lines about gifts, unpaid bills and shipping notice.
• Trust unexpected and weird Christmas or New Year themed emails.
• Reply to dubious email messages and never interact with their content.
• Open SPAM email — delete it.
• Forward or initiate chain mail.
• Click on any embedded picture or link even an ‘unsubscribe’ link within the message body.
• Disclose your personal primary email or official email.
• Disclose your personal, financial and medical details.
• Share personal pictures or pictures of close family members with unknown persons or post them in websites.
• Forget to keep your system protected against malware at all times.

Please feel free to contact me if any of you face any problem or encounter suspicious emails. I would be happy to help you.

N.B:- Safety tips are gathered mostly from personal experience and also from few leading security service providers' websites and guidelines.