Seasonal identity thefts and infections can be avoided. The following advice should help you to stay wary and safe.
1. Never open any e-greeting cards, salutatory e-mails or instant messages without checking that they were sent from someone you trust. There are plenty of rapidly spreading worms and trojans that immediately infect computers without any user interaction.
2. Do not click on any images and links included in e-mails and instant messages. These objects often point to infected files or malicious web sites, which silently install parasites upon execution or visiting.
3. Always ask people you are chatting with using an instant messenger to confirm that suspicious links and images were actually sent by them. Some trojans send out harmful messages to all the victim’s contacts without his or her knowledge and consent.
4. Do not trust advertisements and commercial offers that came to you by e-mail. They most likely were sent by spammers and frauds, as reliable companies usually do not employ such advertising methods.
5. Do not believe in seasonal offers and extra services purportedly provided by well-known companies if there is no such information published on official web sites. Phishers trick thousands of customers every day.
6. Never click on commercial banners and links on suspicious web sites, as they may lead to dangerous pages designed to secretly install parasites to your system by exploiting certain security vulnerabilities.
7. Use a regularly updated antivirus, reliable anti-spyware program and advanced firewall. These tools can detect most parasites, which arrive by e-mail and even alert you when you access phishing or potentially harmful sites.
Read more in Beware of malicious e-greetings and fraudulent seasonal e-mails. You can find this article in Articles > Category Security.
