To click, or not to click: that is the question. In the first installment of the Finish Line Computer Services Blog, we take a look at one of the more common challenges people face every day. We all receive e-mails we think are legitimate. The key word here is THINK!
The message appears in your inbox innocently enough. Maybe there’s an e-mail with no subject from your best friend. Perhaps UPS is e-mailing you about a package that has been shipped. The possibilities are endless.
You open the e-mail from your friend and see that there’s no text in the message, but only a web address link. To click, or not to click?
“I just placed an order with QVC so I’m probably getting an e-mail from UPS with the tracking information,” you think. To click, or not to click?
In the example of the e-mail from your friend, the answer is NO! Don’t click!!! At best, the link will take you to a site that will try to sell you something you don’t need. At worst, you’ll be bringing us your computer because it’ll be infected with a virus, malware, spyware, adware, or some combination of the above. This could also leave you vulnerable to identity theft.
As far as the e-mail from UPS goes, try this trick when you’re not sure what to do: hover your mouse pointer (but don’t click) over the name of the sender in your inbox. If the sender’s address is something like abcde@fghijk.com and not something@ups.com, the odds are good that that e-mail is not really from UPS and it’s something you shouldn’t be clicking on.
The Internet can be a dangerous place. Predators lurk around every corner. The good news is that with a little education (and suspicion) many problems can be avoided. To click, or not to click: that is the question!