Yes, it's THAT book!

Drop your email here to stay informed of the status of my "tell most" book about the National Security Agency:

--OR--

Read a little about the book here:

Employees are allies, not the adversary

--OR--

Check out the Kickstarter here (click)
How can I help you?
Contact Jeremy
Recommendations

Here's something that


I, Jeremy Duffy, actually recommend and think is worth checking out.
No web-bugs, no bs, just a legit recommmendation that I have personally evaluated before allowing it to be listed here:

Think something's here that shouldn't be? contact me!

Using a Decoy E-Mail Account

If I don't trust you, you get the throwaway mailbox

You may have noticed the lifecycle of e-mail accounts goes something like this:

  1. New – You worked hard to get a username that hadn't been taken. You've excited to share it with all the people you know.
  2. 1st Spam – Some jerkwad has defiled your account by sending you a random unwanted advertisement or Phishing e-mail. No big deal… it's just one after all.
  3. Tipping point – It's starting to get serious. You're getting more bogus e-mails every day than real.
  4. Abandonment – You've given up on the account. There seems to be no way to repair the damage and you're resigned to moving on. You create a new e-mail account and start the cycle over again.

The problem with this approach is that changing e-mail addresses can be extremely difficult. All your friends and family can probably be updated with the new address by sending them all a simple e-mail with the new address. But all those web stores and accounts you have will have to be updated manually. It can be done, but it's a chore. Worst case, you used this account for business and now you have to update all your customers which is not only a pain, but looks pretty unprofessional.

Creating a Decoy

The way this works is very simple, pick and use an e-mail account for your friends, family, business contacts, etc. Then go and make a DIFFERENT one perhaps the same one, but with a series of numbers after it.

Ex: butterbean@yahoo.com for your main account and butterbean100@yahoo.com for your buffer.

Now all you have to do is keep your main account safe by not giving it out to any websites or people you don't trust. For anyone you're not sure of or anyone you don't plan to do business with over a period of time (for example, making a single web purchase from a store online), provide the decoy.

Do your best to keep spam and other e-mail garbage out of both, but if eventually the decoy account gets buried and becomes useless, discard it and get another one (butterbean101@yahoo.com for example).

E-mail Dangers

Until we find out who the people are who actually buy things from spammers and kick them off the Internet, you're going to have to learn how to deal with and prevent spam.
E-mail Viruses - Learn how viruses are spread through e-mail and how to stop them
Phishing - Spot and avoid lures that pull you into the dark side of the web
Don't be one of those people that loses thousands of dollars to the classic Nigerian Scam.

E-mail Etiquette

Use CC only when necessary and BCC the rest of the time.
Use Reply-All when you mean to and never when you don't.
Practice proper E-mail Forwarding to protect privacy and make e-mails more readable.
Always personalize your e-mails to make it obvious to your recipient that it's valid.

E-mail Tips and Tricks

Using E-Mail Aliases Properly - Be careful about using sensitive data (like your real name) in an e-mail account.
Remember to treat your e-mail account with the security it deserves.
Use a decoy e-mail account to keep your main e-mail account free of spam.
Avoid using any Internet provider's default e-mail.

Share This

Have a Comment or Question?

Loading...

If you want to learn more about my professional background, click here to learn more.

Check out one of my guides/tutorials:

computer security Tutorial
|INDEX|next: Spyware Scanners

Security Software

Make sure you have a up-to-date Anti-Virus Program to protect you against bad websites or files.
Sometimes spyware gets in your computer and the anti-virus won't stop it. Use a spyware scanner to find and remove spyware and adware.
Use a software firewall to detect bad code on your computer when it tries to connect to the Internet.
Always keep your system up to date with security patches or none of the rest of your security software will matter.
Use an encryption tool to protect your important data when storing or transmitting it.
Switch to Firefox for your web browsing and you'll be better protected from Internet threats.

Safe Computing Practices

Don't get tricked by fake alerts or clever webpages into downloading viruses or spyware!

... or check out any of my other guides and tutorials by clicking here!

Phishing

By far the most dangerous thing you'll find in e-mails is a lie. Sending a bogus e-mail to someone is generally called phishing, but can also be referred to as a Nigerian scam (depending on the goal of the e-mail). Learn to recognize and deal with phishing before it's too late.

[Click for full description]

Preventing Spam

Spam is annoying and worthless, but you still see it every single day. Here are some tips for preventing and reducing spam.

[Click for full description]

E-mail Viruses

Make sure that viruses don't sneak onto your computer through your e-mails. Read some simple tips to prevent that from happening.

[Click for full description]

Phishing

By far the most dangerous thing you'll find in e-mails is a lie. Sending a bogus e-mail to someone is generally called phishing, but can also be referred to as a Nigerian scam (depending on the goal of the e-mail). Learn to recognize and deal with phishing before it's too late.

[Click for full description]

Nigerian Scam

Many people have lost thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to the classic Nigerian Scam. Don't fall for it!

[Click for full description]

How to Use "CC" Properly

Don't violate people's privacy and invite spam into their accounts by CC'ing all your contacts. Learn the proper way to send mass e-mails first.

[Click for full description]

Reply-All

It's easy to embarass yourself or harm your career when you don't know how to use Reply-All appropriately.

[Click for full description]

How to Forward E-mails Properly

Don't forward e-mails carelessly or you risk looking foolish as best and violating the privacy of all your contacts at worst.

[Click for full description]

Personalize E-mail

Follow this simple rule of e-mail etiquette to help prevent your friends and family from falling for phishing scams.

[Click for full description]

Using E-Mail Aliases Properly

It can be hard to find a good name to use in an e-mail account that hasn't been used and doesn't give away too much information about you.

[Click for full description]

Protecting E-mail Passwords

Your e-mail account is the most important online account you have. Remember to treat it as such!.

[Click for full description]

Using a Decoy E-Mail Account

Why it's very important to use a buffer e-mail account to shield your main account from people and companies that you don't trust.

[Click for full description]

The ISP E-mail Trap

Don't fall for the trap of using the free e-mail account provided to you by your Internet service!

[Click for full description]

Anti-Virus

A virus can come from files, e-mails, web pages, or even devices you plug in (like thumbdrives or printers) and destroy your files or your computer once they get in. An anti-virus is software designed to detect and prevent that from happening.

[Click for full description]

Spyware Scanners

Learn how to detect and remove spyware and adware using a free scanning tool.

[Click for full description]

Software Firewall

Learn what a firewall is and why you want one on your computer.

[Click for full description]

Operating System Updates

Make sure to keep your operating system up-to-date with security patches or else none of the rest of your security software will be able to protect you.

[Click for full description]

File Encryption

Learn how to protect your important files on your computer or when transmitting them with free tools for file encryption.

[Click for full description]

Mozilla Firefox - Internet Browser

There are many browser choices out there. Read why I think Firefox is one of the best.

[Click for full description]

Fake Alerts

Maybe you've done everything right and you're computer is sufficiently fortress-like, but then you or someone in your family falls for a simple scam that tricks them into directly installing the bad guy's virus! Learn how to spot and ignore fakes!

[Click for full description]