The intent of a phishing email is for a user to click on a link that will execute malicious code on their computer or for the user to provide sensitive information, such as a username and password, through a fake form. Phishing emails may also attempt to look like they are coming from a legitimate company, such as Google or Facebook, or be written in a way to make the user feel like they must act quickly or something bad will happen like their account will be locked out or they won’t get paid on time. For example, a known phishing email will appear to come from Microsoft technical support with the heading “Unusual sign-in activity” and urging you to contact support immediately by clicking on a link.
In addition to clicking on a link or providing information, other common goals of phishing emails are for a user to call a fake customer service number, open a document that has macros, or even just simply replying to the email. Sophisticated phishing campaigns may have a working hotline that users will be tricked into calling and providing personal information. Phishing emails can also contain attachments, such as a Microsoft Word document that when you open it, a piece of code known as a macro automatically runs. While macros were designed as an additional feature, they can also be used with malicious intent. Finally, replying to an email confirms that address as active and as a target for future phishing campaigns.
Phishing campaigns are easy to initiate, do not require bad actors to be technologically capable, and are so common that in 2019 alone, Google blocked 100 million phishing emails intended for Gmail users.
A great defense against phishing emails is understanding how to spot them. Start with the email address of the sender and the subject line. Is it unfamiliar or contain spelling errors? Also, be aware that email addresses can be spoofed and look like they came from a legitimate source. Look at the body of the email next, is it asking for you to enter sensitive information or asking you to act quickly? If any part of the email looks suspicious, do not click on any link or reply to the email. Notify your IT department and they will guide you through the proper procedures defined in their policies.
Tell me if this sounds familiar. It’s Monday morning. Payroll is due this afternoon. Your field workers are still having that nagging email issue. There is noting ‘quick’ about your Quickbooks. You have no idea what PC Load Letter means, other than your office printer hasn’t delivered in 3 days. The shop has scanners that won’t scan. The warehouse can’t see the ‘shared’ drive and you are almost certain that you smell smoke coming from the server room.
That can mean either another costly repair or, perhaps, that productivity and morale have slid so low that Bob from your current IT operation is smoking on the job again.
When you started this business, things were not going to be like this. You didn’t need computers, servers, smart phones and wireless printers. It was just you, your handful of team members and your dreams. But today’s market place is all connected. You’ve got more email addresses now that you ever dreamed of. How can you make sure Tina in accounting sees the invoices but also not spam her with all the sales junk? You’ve heard something about a distribution group, but hearing about it and knowing how to set them up are two very different things.
Another beep from the closet.
Another nasty email from your supplier saying something about a whitelist. What is a whitelist again?
It’s not even 915 in the morning and already you can feel the ‘to-do’ list left over from last week rising like a tsunami to utterly bury you…again. You swore it wouldn’t be like this, just like you did the month before. There has go to be a better way. That’s where Nomerel comes in.
Nomerel offers Tulsa, Oklahoma based IT consulting. We install, service and support desktops, laptops, servers, email, printers and phone systems. We offer end to end IT service from live answering your IT helpdesk phone calls to comprehensive security audits and compliance. You don’t need to wrestle your email server, we can get you migrated to Microsoft Office 365. We can make your computers talk (nicely) to each other which has been known to allow your team mates to do the same. It doesn’t have to be this hard. As a matter of fact, you are really just a phone call away from being able to pass the baton to the IT professionals so you can focus on running your business. You remember. That dream you were chasing before a thousand IT issues tried to pull you under for good.
Our team of dedicated professionals are standing by to make your IT resources work for you, not the other way around.
Live answered, knowledgeable humans on the phone
24/7/365 system monitoring and alerts
Industry leading, best practice application of security, updates and patching
Machine Learning / AI protection for email, firewalls, networks, laptops, desktops and servers
Full Feature Telephone Options including cell phone integration, full time recording, voice to text transcription and all the other bells and whistles
Office 365 Migration and Support
Network Troubleshooting
Computer Repair and support
World Peace…or at least a secure platform to write about it and wish…
Before you spend another week chasing your tail or whacking moles, give us a call. Let us hear what you’ve got going on and see if we can put out the fires and get you back to doing what you do best.
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