Don't
advertise that you are away from home - Some email
accounts, especially within an organization, offer a feature (called
an autoresponder) that allows you to create an "away" message if you
are going to be away from your email for an extended period of
time.
The message is automatically sent to anyone who emails you while
the autoresponder is enabled. While this is a helpful feature for
letting your contacts know that you will not be able to respond right
away, be careful how you phrase your message. You do not want to let
potential attackers know that you are not home, or, worse, give
specific details about your location and itinerary. Safer options
include phrases such as "I will not have access to email between
[date] and [date]." If possible, also restrict the recipients of the
message to people within your organization or in your address book. If
your away message replies to spam, it only confirms that your email
account is active. This may increase the amount of spam you receive
(see
Reducing
Spam for more information).
Lock
up your valuables - If an attacker is able to
access your personal data, he or she may be able to compromise or
steal the information. Take steps to protect this information by
following good security practices (see the
Cyber Security Tips
index
page for a list of relevant documents). Some of the most
basic
precautions include locking your computer when you step away; using
firewalls, anti-virus software, and strong passwords; installing
appropriate patches; and taking precautions when browsing or using
email.
Have
a backup plan - Since your information could be
lost or compromised (due to an equipment malfunction, an error, or an
attack), make regular backups of your information so that you still
have clean, complete copies (see
Good
Security
Habits for more information). Backups also help you identify
what
has been changed or lost. If your computer has been infected, it is
important to remove the infection before resuming your work (see
Recovering
from
Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses for more information). Keep
in
mind that if you did not realize that your computer was infected, your
backups may also be compromised.
Authors: Mindi
McDowell, Matt Lytle
Produced
2005 by US-CERT, a government organization.
