Using email and online ‘cloud’ storage in modern business operations is a necessary part of company life. These channels can leave you vulnerable to spammers, hackers or other unwanted visitors.
Whilst MailCleaner can help by stopping malware before it reaches any of your workforce’s inboxes, there are some steps that companies can take to insure their risk of viruses and malware is minimised.
We’ve put together a list of bad habits you should avoid if you want your company’s digital lifeblood to be safe from unwelcome intrusions:
Rushing to get through emails
By acting first and thinking later, you’re playing into the hands of spammers and scammers. Take the time with emails. Often, spam messages will use high-pressure tactics to convey a sense of urgency. They want people to click links or open attached files without having the chance to see a message full of the tell-tale signs of a scam.
Often the content of spam is poor quality with lots of spelling, grammar, and layout flaws. If you see obvious errors you know it’s a fake. Keep in mind that a lack of errors doesn’t mean an email is legitimate. Smart scammers are getting better and they can make a fake email look as good as a real one.
Never let the apparent urgency of an email influence your careful review.
Not fact-checking
If you, or a colleague receive an email with an offer that looks too good to be true, it probably is. However, modern scams can be more sly than just telling you that you’re entitled to an unexpected cash prize. Often unsolicited messages can be offering financial solutions, hot stock tips, or (increasingly commonly) the message will look like an invoice from a company you use.
If it is an email from a brand you recognise, go directly to their website yourself – without clicking any links provided on the email – and fact check. If you’re in any doubt Google it. You might find forums with people describing scams they have encountered, or you could find advice from the company the scammers are pretending to be.
Clicking links in emails
A good habit to encourage your staff to get into is to find if an email is spam without needing to click any of the links within it. Use your search engine to find where the link is claiming to take you, without allowing the potential spammer to control where you land.
While email is necessary for any corporate operations, it can also expose your company to a myriad of risks. They offer viruses, spyware and other harmful programs easy access to your business computers. This is where MailCleaner can help by stopping malware before it even reaches your employees’ inboxes. Its spam filter server also ensures that 99% of unwanted messages are blocked, analysing each message so you only receive those that are important. If a harmful file is detected, MailCleaner will automatically send it to a quarantined zone where it cannot cause any more damage in the future.