Don’t open email greeting cards

Cnet News.com reports E-cards used in data-thieving scam.

The attacks involve e-mail messages that at first glance appear to be greeting cards from services like Yahoo or Blue Mountain. … Clicking on the link to view the card, however, first sends the target to a malicious Web site that tries to silently install software that logs the user’s keystrokes. … After that the card is displayed.

“It is really quick, nobody notices it.” … “Unless you actually look at the source of the e-mail and say, ‘Hang on, this is a redirect,’ you wouldn’t actually see it.”

Here are some ways to protect yourself:

• Change your behavior and use common sense. Resist the temptation to open such emails, especially if you can’t tell who the sender is.
• Hover your mouse over hyperlinks (without clicking) to reveal the click-thru url so you can examine if the domain at the beginning of the url seems authentic.
• Make sure your operating system is up to date and that you have the latest security patches installed.

Use caution. Stay safe.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.