While ecards are a fun way to send greetings to friends and families, malware writers often take advantage of this system in order to spread viruses and steal personal information. The average person is more likely to lower their guard to an ecard that they think is from a friend- even if the email address doesn’t look familiar.

This is especially true during holidays, where greetings are flying back and forth. In addition, ecards are very popular with children who are learning how to use the internet. If a child is used to getting ecards from their friend, and they aren’t familiar with ecard safety, then they might accidentally download a virus.

Trojans, viruses, adware, and spyware are frequently used in ecard scams. When the recipient gets fake hallmark ecards, birthday ecards, or an evite, they are told to download it as an attachment or click on a link leading to an outside website. Once they download the attachment or follow the link, their computer becomes infected. Sometimes the computer’s reaction is immediate, and sometimes the virus lies dormant until the ideal opportunity.

An example of an immediate reaction would be a flood of unwanted pop-ups, even when the internet is off. Frequently, these pop-ups are advertising adult websites. In addition, viruses can scan your personal information and send more fake birthday ecards, holiday ecards, or valentines ecards to your friends and family in your name. Some of the spammers will even get the recipient to consent to the barrage of ads in the fine print of a “terms of service” for the fraudulent ecard company.

Some of the more dormant viruses are created to steal personal information. The website that the ecard links to asks the recipient to upload person information. Sometimes these websites pose as legitimate banking, email, or shopping websites and ask the recipient to “verify/update their billing info.” The recipient will type in their address, phone number, and credit card number, compromising their accounts.

These phony ecard senders usually aren’t from legitimate ecards websites. Ecard websites such as Hallmark, MSN, and Care2 will usually take measures to distinguish their real cards from the fake ones. They will never ask you to upload personal information or to download an attachment.

Before you even click on an email, you should check and see that the address is legitimate. Real ecards will also be from someone you know. The best and safest way to view your ecard is to go to the website itself, click on a button that says something along the lines of “Get ecard” and type in the confirmation number from your email. Don’t click on any links in the email itself.

Also, to avoid confusion with friends, it is a good idea to always send ecards from the more well known websites. It is a good idea, in all internet affairs, to avoid downloading files from unknown sources. Having an up-to-date firewall and virus protection software is also essential in browsing the internet.

Never upload personal information into a window without double checking the URL, and scan your computer for viruses on a regular basis. Be especially wary during the holiday season, where false ecard senders are the most active. Ecards are a fun way to show your friends and family that you care. Keeping safe is easy, so long as you exercise caution and diligence.

are very popular with children who are learning how to use the internet. If a child is used to getting ecards from their friend, and they aren’t familiar with ecard safety, then they might accidentally download a virus.

Trojans, viruses, adware, and spyware are frequently used in ecard scams. When the recipient gets fake hallmark ecards, birthday ecards, or an evite, they are told to download it as an attachment or click on a link leading to an outside website. Once they download the attachment or follow the link, their computer becomes infected. Sometimes the computer’s reaction is immediate, and sometimes the virus lies dormant until the ideal opportunity.

An example of an immediate reaction would be a flood of unwanted pop-ups, even when the internet is off. Frequently, these pop-ups are advertising adult websites. In addition, viruses can scan your personal information and send more fake birthday ecards, holiday ecards, or valentines ecards to your friends and family in your name. Some of the spammers will even get the recipient to consent to the barrage of ads in the fine print of a “terms of service” for the fraudulent ecard company.

Some of the more dormant viruses are created to steal personal information. The website that the ecard links to asks the recipient to upload person information. Sometimes these websites pose as legitimate banking, email, or shopping websites and ask the recipient to “verify/update their billing info.” The recipient will type in their address, phone number, and credit card number, compromising their accounts.

These phony ecard senders usually aren’t from legitimate ecards websites. Ecard websites such as Hallmark, MSN, and Care2 will usually take measures to distinguish their real cards from the fake ones. They will never ask you to upload personal information or to download an attachment.

Before you even click on an email, you should check and see that the address is legitimate. Real ecards will also be from someone you know. The best and safest way to view your ecard is to go to the website itself, click on a button that says something along the lines of “Get ecard” and type in the confirmation number from your email. Don’t click on any links in the email itself.

Also, to avoid confusion with friends, it is a good idea to always send ecards from the more well known websites. It is a good idea, in all internet affairs, to avoid downloading files from unknown sources. Having an up-to-date firewall and virus protection software is also essential in browsing the internet.

Never upload personal information into a window without double checking the URL, and scan your computer for viruses on a regular basis. Be especially wary during the holiday season, where false ecard senders are the most active. Ecards are a fun way to show your friends and family that you care. Keeping safe is easy, so long as you exercise caution and diligence.

Tags: birthday ecards | birthday ecards | holiday ecards | holiday ecards | evite | evite

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