Probably not… When you send someone a postcard (remember “snail mail”?), whatever you wrote is visible to anyone who handles it from where it was mailed all the way to the final recipient.  So, of course, you wouldn’t want to put sensitive or personal information on a postcard. Very similar to a postcard, email can generally be read by anyone along the path from where it was sent to its final destination.  In fact, multiple copies of the same email might be stored by mail servers transferring the message along the way. In general, just like a postcard, sensitive and … Continue reading Would You Put Sensitive Information on a Postcard?

During this month of holidays, you can be sure that you’ll be receiving greeting cards from malicious entities.  The Swarthmore community has already been receiving emails, like the one below, containing links to retrieve a holiday greeting card that someone so thoughtfully sent (note the spelling errors): Unfortunately, the sender is someone intent on breaking into your system. Clicking on the links above will download a program that subsequently infects your system allowing remote control and access to your (and the College’s) personal data. As a general rule, NEVER click on attachments that you’re not expecting -or- URL links to … Continue reading Holiday Email Greeting Cards Bring Infections as Gifts