New vet ay las i THQUALC VJ veeUe WH f viewed vA UOgg vt @ ow sewn wy R WK A ff simess $140 tl $A 5k V4 O% Oh Notes!) asiGk w S Five Steps To Setting UpA‘Spam Defense to lose trust in e-mail. Authentication on your Web site removes phishers’ profit motives. If they (NAPSA)—E-mail security is a big concern for small businesses. An estimated 45 percentof all email is defined as spam, costing can’t abuse stolen passwords and identity information they'll stop business $20 billion a year in lost productivity and technology expenses, according to the Radicati Group, a marketresearchfirm. Spam and viruses are also the top security breaches for small and medium sized businesses, with over 80 percent falling victim, stealing them. Use digital signa- tures on outbound mail and provide signature verification at the gatewayor e-mailclient. 4. Look for an e-mail-filtering solution that lets users sort their Spam and phishing can be big problems for small businesses. Fortunately, there are solutions. own junk, in case there’s a particu- from e-mail born threats, innovator Vipul Ved Prakash, who cre- rate user will automatically be spam filtration network, offers thesetips: 1. Educate employees. Make based on real-time feedback from the Cloudmark community of spam fighters, which consists of over a sider solutions such as Cloudmark Exchange Edition, or Cloudmark SafetyBar, which automatically forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal financial information. 2. Be aware of “phishing,” a high-tech scam that uses spam, reports the Yankee Group. To help make small businesses more productive and to protect ated the world’s first collaborative sure they know to avoid filling out Legitimate companies will not ask for this information via e-mail. Also, as Web site and e-mail sender addresses are frequently faked, users should log directly onto the Web site address in your browser or call the company by phone. A phishing e-mail may open a near replica of a bank Web site and send a message that asks the individual to “confirm financial information.” Employees should look for signs a site is secure, such as a Website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Cloudmarks offers a solution called SafetyBar for Internet Explorer with enhanced data analysis capabilities designed to stop phishing attacks, fraud and identity theft online. Using this technology a consumeror corpo- alerted when linkingto a pageif it s “good,” “safe” or “unknown” million in 153 countries. pop-up messages or counterfeit Websites to deceive users into disclosing credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords or other sensitive information. Some three percent of those targeted by phishers reveal personal information; according to a study by the research firm Gart- ner. You may get an e-mail that you need to “update” or “vali- date” account information. These attempts can often be recognized through grammatical errors and language not suitable for business communications. 3. Protect your business. Phishing can put business ownersat risk for online fraud, identity theft and outright robbery and threaten future operations by causing users lar mailing they want. Also, have a way users can report spam to your ISP or the Feds at FTC.gov. Con- protect users from e-mail crime before it happens with “block fraud” and “block spam” buttons. Decide how you feel about employees using your business systems for personal use. Internal spam, such as forwarded jokes, can be one of a company’s biggest spam problems. 5. Choose the e-mail security for your size company. Typically small businesses don’t have dedicated IT resources and often can’t afford the upfront investment in technology. Look for solutions that are easy to use and specifically designed with small businesses in mind such as those from Cloudmark proven to stop over 98 percent of spam and fraud with zero false positives. This can increase productivity by avoiding the annoyance of unwanted e-mails and protect your company from e-mail security breaches. For more information on protecting your business, visit www.cloudmark.com.
