How to deal with the RASH of corporate email HACKS

With the news that "Target's e-mail addresses stolen", this morning and earlier in the week, Epsilon being hit with customers from Capitol One to Best Buy being at Risk.  The daily occurrences seem to be growing.  I think it's time to review how BEST to protect yourself from Phishing and Spam that attempt to steal information about you and your family.

First Obtain a Good Virus Checker and Malware Protection package.  Many can be obtained FREE these day.  Look further down in my BLOG one I'm recommending is Avast! Updates frequently and their free program is great.  Another for great Malware protection and also is PROACTIVE watching sites you go on to is Malware Bytes.

Second, get a FREE Email address, hotmail.com, google.com or yahoo.com offer these.  When something or someone ASKS you for an email address, such as TARGET, Best Buy, Kroger (these were one's HACKED) when you are signing up for things.  Give them that email address rather than your primary one that you exchange thoughts, ideas or photo's with Aunt Katherine, Mom and Uncle Bud.  That way when these corporations send you info or spam it goes there and doesn't clutter your box.  You can still get all of the info that those folks send you just by signing in on their web portals and if you find something that you really need like FREE COUPON for a TIVO or the HAND CREAM you must have.  Forward it to your primary account.  This way you keep your PRIVATE info to yourself.

Third, NEVER NEVER give up personal info such as your social security number online.  If they want that bad enough.  Do it over the phone, and only if your calling them not the other way around.  Seems to me once that the social security number wasn't supposed to ever be used as an IDENTIFIER when it was first started but these days I think the federal government has chosen to turn a blind eye to all of the corporations that are using it including your doctor.

Forth, don't be afraid to change email addresses from time to time.  If you find your getting to much spam?  Change email address and only give the new one to folks you REALLY want to contact.  Use the old one for SPAM.  It's worth checking the old one from time to time to make sure you didn't leave someone important behind when you moved however.

A good rule of thumb is don't share your person info, phone number or email with ANYONE you don't know and you don't know that would just give it out.  If you have an aunt or uncle that likes subscribing to stuff and getting all their friends to get emails from all the folks she or he signed up with.  You may want to consider putting them in the list of folks that you don't share your primary address with, these are the BEST methods for controlling and curbing unwanted email and BOXING those predators on the net.  Has worked well for me for the last few years!!   Enjoy a spam free email box.