Safer Email Tips

Six ways to avoid email problems.

TNPC Newsletter
by Dan Butler

09 January 2007

+++————– Visit Our Sponsor ————————–+++

Have you thought about starting your own business on the
Internet? Then check out the new book I have been working on and
just finished. It will tell you how to start, setup, and grow
a business of your own with your own product. I call it Quick
and Effective Internet Business. Take a look here:

http://www.tnpcnewsletter.com/p/quickbiz/

+++———————————————————–+++

Hello

Welcome to the first issue of 2007. Did you make some
resolutions? Set some goals? I wrote an article for another list
of mine called “The Big Three”. I’ve mentioned the big three
here before but it is worth considering. You can read that post
at the blog:

http://www.tnpcnewsletter.com/blog/category/life/

Next the drawing. Alot of people expressed their opinion on HTML
vs. Text for this newsletter. HTML won – by a large margin. The
actual ratio was 80% for and 20% against. So this is the first
issue in HTML again. You will notice it is simple and I promise
to keep it that way. The traditional text version is inside the
email as well, if you prefer that.

The winners of the December drawing are Ed, Tom, and Art. I did
not collect last names this time. Their prizes are already on
the way. Watch for details on the drawing soon.

I received exactly one email about moving TNPC to an HTML
format. You will find an expanded version of my response below.
Basically the writer was concerned about clicking links in an
email. I will tell you about links in email, how to know what is
safe, and give you two specific tips to keep your email safer.

Thank you to those who shared about scoliosis. I tried to
respond individually to each of you but may have missed one or
two. I appreciate your taking the time to share.

Read last weeks issue at the blog:

http://www.tnpcnewsletter.com/blog/category/newsletters/tnpc/

Clicking links in emails can be tricky. I, personally have no
trouble clicking links in emails – from trusted sources. How do
you know who is to be trusted? I would hope you find me
trutworthy. I always check every link just prior to sending
TNPC.

Not clicking URL’s is generally a way to avoid phishing schemes
- emails that are trying to get your personal information. With
the rise of phishing attempts, some email clients will warn you
when it thinks an email is fraudulent. This newsletter may
trigger that response. Why? Because the web links you see are
not always the same as the destination.

Try it for yourself. Hold your mouse over any link in this
newsletter. Most email clients will show you the link
destination in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

Does your status bar show something different than what you see?
It may. Here is why:

The URL’s in the HTML of TNPC newsletter will have the actual
link visible. If you click the link it will go through
clicks.aweber.com. Aweber is the service that delivers this
newsletter to you.

All of the links in TNPC newsletter are coded through
clicks.aweber.com.  Aweber counts the number of clicks on each
link and shows me a total. It doesn’t tell me who clicked a
link, but how many times each link has been clicked. No other
information is collected other than the fact that a link has
been clicked.

You can always choose to type or copy the real URL if that makes
you feel safer. Using the HTML formatting lets you see the
actual destination URL before you click any link. When the
newsletter was just text you couldn’t tell the destination until
after you clicked.

A phishing attempt may use some JavaScript code to try and fool
you into thinking the link is different than it is. If your
email client allows the code to run this can be bad. Remember
looking at URL’s in the status bar of your email client? If your
email client allows JavaScript to execute it may be possible to
show a different URL than the one you will click on.

——- Hot Point ——–
Turn JavaScript blocking on if possible. I can think of no goodreason to have JavaScript running in an email client.
—————————

More after this message from our sponsor:

+++—————– Brief Commercial Message ——————–+++
Getting the Best Movies Delivered to Your Door Can Be A Breeze!
           (When you get in the right CIRCLE…)
     STOP! Don’t waste another minute watching violence
        or special effects movies that leave you numb.
    Warm your heart, stir your mind and expand your soul!

      http://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com?af=78814
+++————————————————————-+++

Here is the bigger issue with a phising email If you type the
URL from a phishing email it is often no different that clicking
it. I wrote about how to avoid problems in this newsletter a few
months back. It is also the most popular section in my book
“Tame Your Email”.

Basically if you get an email from a bank, PayPal, eBay, Amazon,
etc. asking you to confirm personal information don’t click the
link. Instead simply go to your web browser and login to your
account normally. If the request is legitimate you will see it
after you login. Another option, just call the institution and
ask.

—— Hot Point —–
Don’t click links asking you to verify personal information.
———————–

Here are some simple steps to evaluating which links to click inan email:

Follow these simple steps and you will go a long way to securing
your email.

© 2007 Dan Butler

Dan Butler publishes TNPC Newsletter and is the author of the
amazing book that shows you how to save your identity, get your
email read, and put more time into the things you really enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tired of fighting identity thieves? Tired of all that junk in
your email box? Want to have your messages seen by the people
that matter? “Tame Your Email” reveals the secrets to taking
control of your inbox while leaving the thieves and spammers
out of sight and out of mind.

http://www.TameYourEmail.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+++————- Recommended Resources ———————–+++

I’ve been reading through a nifty book gearing up for theafter Christmas sales and garage sales. It was updated recently. I like it a lot. You will too. Go check it out now:http://zcat.com/qpp/x.php?adminid=8&tid=34

BANABU is 11 simple principles you can start using immediately and easily share with others. I started applying these principles earlier this year with myself and my family. We’ve really enjoyed this and think you will to. Highly recommended.
Find out what BANABU stands for and discover more here:
http://zcat.com/qpp/x.php?adminid=8&tid=35

My favorite way to look up personal information about myself and
others. I have used it for years.

http://zcat.com/qpp/x.php?adminid=8&tid=9

Put things off? I did too. These recordings helped me gently
start to get more done. I recommend them highly.