logo

IT Services covering Chester, North Wales & The Wirral

Office 43, Coworkz Block B, Minerva Avenue, Chester, CH1 4QL


Email: info@tst.uk.com

Phone: 01244 457870

mobile-logo
 

Threat Alert

10 Feb

Threat Alert

by admin
in IT Security
Comments

Online security is essential in keeping individual and organisational data safe.  In this article we will look at the most common threat alerts. Your email host should remove some threats but it is not possible to remove all threats which means that you should remain vigilant and alert to the dangers.

 

Be careful of:

  • emails claiming that you have missed a delivery so click on a link to reschedule
  • attachments about deliveries or quotes your requested or missed
  • emails purporting to come from a friend or colleague and wanting you to “check out a new deal or app”
  • banner adverts on websites. These have been known to lead to malware sites especially on lesser known websites where security may be lax.
  • emails requesting payments, including unexpected invoices or instructing you to buy vouchers (that appear to be sent from a colleague)

Be Aware

Link Check – By hovering your mouse pointer over any link in an email or web browser, you can see the actual destination of a link

Threat alert

If you are not expecting a delivery, quote or payment request, do not open any attachments.

 

Do not download and open zip files

Be Prepared

Make sure you have an up to date PC Protection suite on your PCs, laptops and Android Phones.  If not, contact us and we will install the appropriate protection on your device(s).

Spot the Signs

 

Check the ‘From’ address – Rather than just checking the name, check the actual email address to make sure it is not a ‘spoof’ email.  Hover over the senders name or right click on the name to see the real email address that the sender has used.  If you don’t recognise the address, delete the email.

 

Impersonal greeting – A lot of scam emails, include the first line that is impersonal, for example, it may start with “Hi info”

 

Check the website links – Hover over any website links in the email and look at the bottom left of your browser to see the actual website URL. If it doesn’t look right, don’t click the link

 

Request for personal or bank information – If an email is asking you to update or re-enter your personal or bank details, it is likely to be a scam.  Companies don’t ask you to supply this information by email.

 

Poor spelling, grammar and presentation – Phishing emails are often put together overseas by someone who has English as their second language.  If it doesn’t read correctly, it is probably a scam and should be deleted.

The Sextortion scam

 

Hackers send emails saying they have compromising images or videos of you from your web cam. They may say that they have evidence of your visiting adult websites.  The threat to release this information to your family and friends is made.  A request for payment in bitcoin is made and a promise to delete the evidence once payment has been made is given. To support their claim, they may include a password that you have previously used.  If you receive such an email – delete it.  The password and your email address have come from hacking databases of stores you have used.  For example, a hack of Currys PC World in July 2017 involved the breach of 10 million customer data records.

Secure Business Email Hosting

 

Our Zimbra Business Email hosting will remove most threats. When emails arrive at our mailservers, viruses and spam are removed before messages are sent on to you.  Our email security system removes 99% of unwanted content, viruses and spam before it gets to you.