Link to Us: http://sn.im/emailps
Many people use Internet every day and those Internet services that we use very frequently are social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, online banking, and also web based E-mails application.
What is web based E-mail application? Maybe you do not know what is that but you know Hotmail which also known as Live Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and Google Mail? They are the three common and popular web based E-mail service providers. Basically, web based E-mail application refers to E-mail service which is available through online, Internet and users are not required to install any software to use this service. Users only have to register to become the service members then, they could send E-mails and keep contact with their family, friends, partner, and others. Nowadays, E-mail is very convenient, easy, fast, and usually it is FREE (except for the premium E-mail service)! People love to use web based E-mail but E-mail could bring privacy risk and issues to users.
First, the most possible issue of E-mail is spam E-mails. Spam E-mails might contain viruses, spyware, worm such as Trojan that could harm your computer. If you accidentally open the spam E-mails and download the attachment inside the spam E-mails, your computer could have a high possibility to be affected by Trojan and other viruses. Trojan could allow intruder take control of your computer therefore, those personal files, information that saved inside your computer might be stalked by intruder. It sounds scary, right?
Next, do you ever encounter problem like sending E-mails to wrong addresses? If you type wrong a character of the receiver's E-mail address, the message (the E-mail) would send to the wrong address that you have type in. For example, Susan* wants to tell her father she is lacking of money to pay her accommodation fee then, she writes an E-mails which contains her account number and request her father to bank in money to that particular bank account. After that, her father E-mail address is J08004222_4307@hotmail.com but she accidentally type a wrong address which is J08004307_4222@hotmail.com. Her E-mail which contained her personal information is sent to a wrong receiver which is J08004307_4222@hotmail.com. This wrong receiver might misuse her personal information such as this wrong receiver uses her name, her account number, and IC number to apply for a loan from other Internet services. Thus, web based E-mail providers do not 100% fully ensure your E-mail could be sent to a correct receiver and your private information could be reveal to strangers easily. Ok, maybe users be more careful and double check the receiver E-mail address could be safe. Users always need to have awareness and double check effort to prevent this problem.
In addition, another threat of web based E-mail is it could be an easy platform to do tracing. An E-mail contains time and date that you sent that particular E-mail, IP address, country, city that shows the exact location you sent the E-mail. Then, the web base E-mail service provider would record down all these information included the message you write in the E-mail in their database and the E-mail admin could always refer back and check the information of the E-mail sender. He could check your IP address and he might trace your IP for hacking attack to your computer. Since web based E-mail is easily to do tracing, people who intrude the database and obtain your IP addresses, other personal information and even telephone number then, they could track on your online habit which included the location you online, the location you send E-mails, and others.
Burglar, Animation Library [Online]
Retrieved on 20th March 2010
URL: http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Jobs_and_People/Criminals/Burglar.gif
When you want to send message to your business partner and other personal purposes, you would use electronic mail, E-mail because it is convenient and it does not like sending a postcard which requires you to purchase post stamp and put the letter into the post bin and most of the web base E-mail service is free except premium service. Therefore, why not just use web base E-mail to do communication, sending messages instead of posting letters, postcard but think carefully, your E-mail that you sent by using web base E-mail service would pass through many computers or maybe servers throughout the Internet. You might encounter information leakage, your message revealed and it would cause user a heavy lost if the E-mail contains crucial information, private information, business information because most of the web base E-mail could not fully guarantee your E-mail privacy except you use their premium service.
Last, maybe there are some web base E-mail service providers who have stronger privacy protection and security but not all of us are know them and even use them. Internet users still can use web base E-mail but please be more aware to the threats, be more careful on the message that you want to send through web base E-mail and also try to avoid to send too personal information.
References:
Primary Search:
Simson Garfinkel, Gene Spafford (2002), Web Security, Privacy, and Commerce Second Edition, O'Reilly Media, Inc, United States of America.
Secondary Search:
Email Privacy Info, Email Privacy.Info [Online]
Retrieved on 20th March 2010
URL: http://www.emailprivacy.info/
Many people use Internet every day and those Internet services that we use very frequently are social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, online banking, and also web based E-mails application.
What is web based E-mail application? Maybe you do not know what is that but you know Hotmail which also known as Live Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and Google Mail? They are the three common and popular web based E-mail service providers. Basically, web based E-mail application refers to E-mail service which is available through online, Internet and users are not required to install any software to use this service. Users only have to register to become the service members then, they could send E-mails and keep contact with their family, friends, partner, and others. Nowadays, E-mail is very convenient, easy, fast, and usually it is FREE (except for the premium E-mail service)! People love to use web based E-mail but E-mail could bring privacy risk and issues to users.
First, the most possible issue of E-mail is spam E-mails. Spam E-mails might contain viruses, spyware, worm such as Trojan that could harm your computer. If you accidentally open the spam E-mails and download the attachment inside the spam E-mails, your computer could have a high possibility to be affected by Trojan and other viruses. Trojan could allow intruder take control of your computer therefore, those personal files, information that saved inside your computer might be stalked by intruder. It sounds scary, right?
Next, do you ever encounter problem like sending E-mails to wrong addresses? If you type wrong a character of the receiver's E-mail address, the message (the E-mail) would send to the wrong address that you have type in. For example, Susan* wants to tell her father she is lacking of money to pay her accommodation fee then, she writes an E-mails which contains her account number and request her father to bank in money to that particular bank account. After that, her father E-mail address is J08004222_4307@hotmail.com but she accidentally type a wrong address which is J08004307_4222@hotmail.com. Her E-mail which contained her personal information is sent to a wrong receiver which is J08004307_4222@hotmail.com. This wrong receiver might misuse her personal information such as this wrong receiver uses her name, her account number, and IC number to apply for a loan from other Internet services. Thus, web based E-mail providers do not 100% fully ensure your E-mail could be sent to a correct receiver and your private information could be reveal to strangers easily. Ok, maybe users be more careful and double check the receiver E-mail address could be safe. Users always need to have awareness and double check effort to prevent this problem.
In addition, another threat of web based E-mail is it could be an easy platform to do tracing. An E-mail contains time and date that you sent that particular E-mail, IP address, country, city that shows the exact location you sent the E-mail. Then, the web base E-mail service provider would record down all these information included the message you write in the E-mail in their database and the E-mail admin could always refer back and check the information of the E-mail sender. He could check your IP address and he might trace your IP for hacking attack to your computer. Since web based E-mail is easily to do tracing, people who intrude the database and obtain your IP addresses, other personal information and even telephone number then, they could track on your online habit which included the location you online, the location you send E-mails, and others.
Burglar, Animation Library [Online]
Retrieved on 20th March 2010
URL: http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Jobs_and_People/Criminals/Burglar.gif
When you want to send message to your business partner and other personal purposes, you would use electronic mail, E-mail because it is convenient and it does not like sending a postcard which requires you to purchase post stamp and put the letter into the post bin and most of the web base E-mail service is free except premium service. Therefore, why not just use web base E-mail to do communication, sending messages instead of posting letters, postcard but think carefully, your E-mail that you sent by using web base E-mail service would pass through many computers or maybe servers throughout the Internet. You might encounter information leakage, your message revealed and it would cause user a heavy lost if the E-mail contains crucial information, private information, business information because most of the web base E-mail could not fully guarantee your E-mail privacy except you use their premium service.
Last, maybe there are some web base E-mail service providers who have stronger privacy protection and security but not all of us are know them and even use them. Internet users still can use web base E-mail but please be more aware to the threats, be more careful on the message that you want to send through web base E-mail and also try to avoid to send too personal information.
References:
Primary Search:
Simson Garfinkel, Gene Spafford (2002), Web Security, Privacy, and Commerce Second Edition, O'Reilly Media, Inc, United States of America.
Secondary Search:
Email Privacy Info, Email Privacy.Info [Online]
Retrieved on 20th March 2010
URL: http://www.emailprivacy.info/
