Network security is a difficult subject to manage because it covers so many aspects of the network that a company runs on. Users need to understand that they play a very important role. Your emails are a big focus of the bad guys out there. Today, emails come from so many different sources, many of which are just being sent to cause problems for you and your network. Here is a simple step that can really help your company. Remember, if you initiate a problem you as well as your network might be down slowing, even stopping, your productivity for a period of time forcing you to miss deadlines and in most cases costing the company a lot of money.
I see emails that say, “IT Support Request” or “Need IT Support” from senders I don’t recognize. I really want to open them but because of what I see in the field I know that I need to investigate it a bit more. Without opening it, right click on the email and choose “Message Options”. In the bottom part of the window that opens you will see “Internet Headers”. To the right you can scroll down until you see the “From” line, in other words, who sent it. Notice the email address. If you don’t like it, delete the email. You can open your browser and type in the domain name to see if it is a legitimate company. (example: From: Robert@abc123.com. Type in www.abc123.com) You can call them to see if that person exists. You can even ask for that person. If you are in any way unsure who this is or why they sent it then don’t open the email, delete it and then go to the Deleted Files folder and delete it permanently.
IT support professional in many cases can determine which user initiated a network problem and how. It is not uncommon for companies to fire the user because that person broke an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Don’t be that person!
Trust me; this little step helps a lot.
Robert Lane
President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
703-273-8388 ext 111
ASE, Inc. is an IT technical support services and consulting firm in the Washington DC Metro area. Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex networks as well as security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets. Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.