Have you ever logged into your e-mail account and gotten an email such as one that says something like “You’ve won a million dollars! Congratulations!”? This seems like a sweet deal; a million bucks and you did nothing for it. Seems too good to be true? The old axiom is still in place and functioning today; it probably is. If you read carefully, you must provide them with access to your bank account, so they can wire the money into you. They probably won’t be putting anything in, but they might take quite a bit out. Another common one is to get your log-in or password information to a website. People will create false e-mail addresses and pose as a representative of the site. For example, someone could stick the word “MySpace” in front of an AOL email address and ask people for their passwords to run site maintenance, and somebody would probably do it.

There is also the possibility that these e-mails are just filled with viruses or mal ware. These can be stopped by an everyday virus scanner, but some more intricately woven viruses can sneak their way through to your system. Looking at your email providers “spam” section isn’t enough to stop the problem either. Did you ever notice how often you have to go into the spam folder to retrieve a message that was not actually junk at all? The same could happen the other way around; a spam email could sneak its way into your inbox folder, and you would read it without thinking twice; game over! These viruses are often wired to completely fry your computer, or to try and extract vital information from your hard drive and then bring it back to the individual responsible so they can wreak more havoc on you.

There are ways to combat this though. For one, if the email is from someone you don’t know, or if you don’t recognize the email address, do a thorough scan on it before opening it. Also, if the subject line is just a garbled mess of letters and numbers, it was probably machine generated and should be avoided at all costs. Be wary of attachments also in emails, this could be the dead give away for a virus. If it seems suspicious in any way, just try to avoid it and move on. Remember, big websites like MySpace, YouTube, or FaceBook will never ask you, especially by email, to send them any information for anything. While these sites cannot do to much irreparable damage, an online banking site can. Consider what would happen if you sent all of your check numbers, bank account info, and log-in information to some criminal unknowingly?

To stay adequately safe online, sequester yourself from virus and other mal ware by investing in something more than the security systems that came on your computer. Try a new firewall program, virus scanner, or a change IP proxy.

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