Difficulty | You Should... | More Info... |
Easy | use a unique, unobvious, unguessable, safe email password; change it regularly, store it securely, and never give it out to anyone | Passphrase Info |
Easy | never open unexpected, unknown email attachments, even those from trusted sources -- save all attachments to disk and scan for viruses/trojans first | Anti-Virus Programs Anti-Virus Info |
Easy | never reply to spammers, even to "opt out" of unwanted email or "services" | Privacy Docs & FAQ's |
Medium | set up disposeable, anonymous email accounts (e.g., Hotmail or Yahoo) for public use and reserve your main email account for use with close friends and family members | Internet Privacy Services/Solutions |
Hard | use an anonymous email service or remailer | Email Encryption/ Anonymizing Internet Privacy Services/Solutions |
Easy | post to public newgroups/forums with a "munged" email address | Address Munging FAQ |
Medium | configure your email program's security features (esp. handling of attachments, HTML, scripts, macros, Java, and ActiveX) for maximum security | |
Easy | disable the preview pane in your email program | |
Hard | get the latest security patches and updates for your email program | Critical Software Updates |
Hard | acquire and learn to use a personal encryption program (e.g., PGP) | Email Encryption/ Anonymizing |
Easy | understand your employer's email policies and assume the worst |
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© 2000, 2001 Eric L. Howes (eburger68@yahoo.com)