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Essential Email Knowledge: Protecting, Organizing, and Thriving

Essential Email Knowledge: Protecting, Organizing, and Thriving

by | Oct 18, 2023 | Email, Email Security

What Do I Need to Know About My Email?

Your email is a pivotal component of your digital presence and communication. Here is Net10.net’s list of what you need to know about email management to protect, organize, and communicate effectively with clients and friends online.

Account Security: Protect Your Digital Identity

  • Ensuring the security of your email account is paramount. Strong, unique passwords are your first line of defense.
  • Steer clear of easily guessable options like “password123.”
  • Take it up a notch with two-factor authentication (2FA). It adds an extra layer of security by verifying your identity through a code sent to your mobile when logging in.

Phishing Awareness: Dodge the Deceptive Hooks

  • Watch out for emails from suspicious senders or requests for personal information and financial details.
  • Verify the sender’s email address and be cautious about emails with misspelled domains or suspicious URLs.
  • Don’t click on links or download attachments from unknown sources when in doubt.
  • To learn more, see our Email Phishing Attacks — And Preventative Methods blog.

Email Classification: Managing Your Inbox Effectively

  • Understanding how your email service classifies messages is vital.
  • Regularly check your spam folder for legitimate emails that may have been incorrectly categorized.

Backup Your Emails: Safeguard Your Valuable Data

  • Regularly back up crucial emails to prevent data loss.
  • Most email services offer email backup and archiving options.

Privacy and Encryption: Secure Your Confidential Messages

  • Consider encrypted email services for enhanced privacy.
  • Some providers offer end-to-end encryption.
  • When sharing sensitive information, opt for secure methods like password-protected files or encrypted messaging apps.

Email Clients: Choose What Works for You

  • Select an email client that aligns with your needs, whether a web-based service like Gmail or Outlook or a desktop client like Mozilla Thunderbird.

Email Organization: Keep It Tidy

  • Organize your emails with folders and labels to quickly find important messages.
  • Utilize filters and rules to sort and categorize incoming emails automatically.

Email Etiquette: Be a Polite Communicator

  • Follow proper email etiquette with clear subject lines, concise and polite language, and appropriate formatting.
  • Avoid excessive use of capital letters, as it can come across as shouting.

Attachments: Be Mindful of Sizes

  • Pay attention to the size of email attachments, as large files can pose problems.
  • Consider using file-sharing services like Dropbox or Google Drive for larger attachments.

Regular Maintenance: Keep It Clean

  • Periodically clean up your inbox by deleting or archiving old and unnecessary emails.
  • Monitor your email storage limits, especially with free email services.

Mobile Access: Stay Connected Securely

  • Ensure your email is accessible and secure on mobile devices.
  • Install the official email app or configure your email client for mobile use.

Spam and Unsubscribe: Tame Your Inbox

  • Mark spam emails as spam to help train your email provider’s filter.
  • Use the unsubscribe option in legitimate marketing emails to reduce unwanted messages.

Recovery Options: Plan for the Unexpected

  • Familiarize yourself with the account recovery process if you forget or lose your email account password.

Regular Updates: Stay Secure

  • Keep your email client and device software up-to-date to protect against security vulnerabilities.

Legal Considerations: Know the Rules

  • Understand email’s legal and regulatory aspects, especially if you use it for business purposes, to ensure compliance with data protection laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which protects individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly their right to protection of their personal data.

Ready To Safeguard Your Email And Data With Net10.net?

  • Discover NET10’s Premium Email offering — a cost-effective alternative to Office 365 or G Suite, featuring accurate data backups and top-notch data recovery assistance.
  • While major cloud providers may not guarantee data recovery in all cases, NET10 stands by its customers and will assist in recovering any data hosted by us.

Contact Us to learn more about Net10’s Email Hosting Services and take control of your email security today!

How Does Email Work?

How Does Email Work?

by | Oct 6, 2023 | Domain Names & Website Hosting, Email, Hosting, Net10.net Blogs

How Email Works: A Simplified Overview for Better Understanding

Email, or electronic mail, serves as a crucial tool for digital communication across the Internet. Its functionality relies on a sophisticated network of protocols and servers. Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process from Net10.net:

Email Client: The journey of a message starts with a user employing an application such as Gmail, Outlook, Thunderbird, or Apple Mail. These clients facilitate the composition, sending, receiving, and management.

Composition: When users draft an email, they input the recipient’s address, subject, message content, and any attachments. The client then organizes this information.

Sender’s Server: After clicking “Send,” the client connects to the user’s outgoing mail server, also known as the SMTP server. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard communication protocol for email transmission.

Recipient’s Address: The sender’s SMTP server identifies the destination of the message by parsing the recipient’s email address, typically composed of two parts: the local part (e.g., “username”) and the domain part (e.g., “example.com”). The domain part directs the message to the recipient’s mail server.

Domain Name System (DNS): To locate the recipient’s mail server, the sender’s SMTP server queries the DNS (Domain Name System) for the Mail Exchange (MX) records of the recipient’s domain. MX records specify the mail servers responsible for receiving messages for that domain.

SMTP Handshake: An interaction unfolds between the sender’s SMTP server and the recipient’s SMTP server, involving several steps such as greeting, authentication (if necessary), and negotiation.

Delivery: Once the recipient’s SMTP server verifies the recipient’s address and is ready to accept the email, the sender’s SMTP server transmits the message.

Recipient’s Mailbox: The recipient’s SMTP server receives the message and deposits it into the recipient’s mailbox. The recipient can access their mailbox through a client application like Outlook or webmail services such as Net10 or Gmail to view the received message.

Message Retrieval: When the recipient’s application t seeks new messages, it connects to the incoming mail server (POP3 or IMAP server) to retrieve the emails. POP3 (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) are standard retrieval protocols.

Reading and Managing: The recipient can perform various actions on their emails, including reading, replying, forwarding, and organizing them into folders. Actions like archiving or deleting are also possible.

Storage: Emails are stored on the recipient’s server, their client device, or both, depending on the client’s settings and protocols.

Forwarding and Routing: If the recipient chooses to forward a message to another address, a similar process occurs as the email is routed from their SMTP server to the designated address’s SMTP server.

Spam Filtering and Security: Both the sender and recipient’s mail servers often employ built-in spam filters and security checks to minimize the risk of malicious emails reaching the inbox and filtering out unwanted spam. Many mail applications and Internet security applications offer similar services.

Archiving and Backup: Many email servers incorporate archiving and backup systems to safeguard email data from loss.

Access from Anywhere: Email provides the flexibility of access from various devices and locations, making it a versatile and widely adopted communication tool.

Unlock the Power of Branded Email with NET10 Internet Services

NET10 offers email hosting solutions that empower your organization to utilize branded “@yourcompany.com” email addresses, enhancing your professional image. Our email hosting includes a user-friendly web-based control panel for effortless management of accounts. We also provide a robust security package to shield your inbox from spam, viruses, and phishing attempts.

Rest assured, NET10.net prioritizes the privacy and security of your data. We neither collect nor misuse your personal or business information.

Key Net10 Email Features

  • Web-Based Control Panel
  • POP/IMAP/Web and Mobile Access
  • Privacy and Security Focus
  • Daily Backups
  • Robust Email Security Suite

Getting Started Is Simple

Reach out to us today via email or phone at 928-515-8990, or visit our email hosting web page for more information: NET10 Email Hosting.

DNS. What The Heck Is It And Why Every Internet User Should Care

DNS. What The Heck Is It And Why Every Internet User Should Care

by | Aug 10, 2023 | DNS, Domain Names, Email, Malware, Net10.net Blogs, Ransomware

Have you ever wondered how your computer knows where to find the website you’re trying to access? Or how your emails reach their intended recipients? Behind the scenes, a critical technology called DNS (Domain Name System) plays a pivotal role in translating human-readable web addresses into machine-readable IP addresses. In this blog post, we’ll explore the significance of DNS and why you should care about it, focusing on Net10.net DNS and other Internet Services.

What is DNS?

Imagine the internet as a massive web of interconnected devices, servers, and networks. Each device has a unique identifier called an IP (Internet Protocol) address, which looks like a series of numbers. While computers can easily communicate with these numerical IP addresses, they could be more user-friendly for humans. That’s where DNS comes into play.

The Domain Name System acts as a digital phone book of the internet. It converts user-friendly domain names (like net10.net) into the corresponding IP addresses (like 203.0.113.10). When you enter a URL into your web browser, the DNS server is queried to find the correct IP address associated with that domain name, allowing your browser to connect to the correct server and fetch the website’s content.

Why Should You Care About DNS?

User Convenience: DNS simplifies our lives by simplifying how we access online resources. Just imagine if you had to remember a string of numbers for every website you wanted to visit! Thanks to DNS, you only need to remember the memorable domain names and the system handles the rest.

Faster Browsing: Efficient DNS resolution directly impacts your internet browsing speed. When a domain name’s IP address is cached locally, subsequent requests to the same domain can be processed faster, reducing website loading times.

Reliable Email Delivery: DNS is not only about accessing websites; it also plays a crucial role in email communication. Email servers use DNS to find the correct mail server for the recipient’s domain, ensuring your messages reach their intended destination. DNS records are also used by the recipient’s mail system to verify that your message came from an authorized source.

Secure Internet Experience: Cybersecurity relies on DNS to prevent users from accessing malicious websites. Domain Name System filtering and blacklisting help protect users from phishing scams, malware, and other cyber threats.

The Significance of Net10.net Internet Services

While Net10.net is an illustrative example in our blog post, it is essential to understand that every website, service, or email you interact with relies on the DNS infrastructure. Net10.net, like any other domain, requires proper DNS management to ensure its accessibility and functionality.

For website owners, managing DNS records correctly is crucial for website availability and performance. Misconfigured Domain Name System settings can lead to website downtime, which may result in lost revenue and decreased user trust. Similarly, DNS server outages can also lead to unreachable websites and undeliverable emails.

DNS is a behind-the-scenes technical aspect of the internet, and its importance cannot be overstated. The Domain Name System enables seamless communication between users and online resources, making the Internet accessible and convenient for everyone. Whether you are a casual internet user or a business owner, understanding and appreciating DNS will undoubtedly enhance your online experience.

So, the next time you enter Net10.net into your browser’s address bar or any other domain name, take a moment to appreciate the magic of DNS, the unsung hero that makes the internet a global network of possibilities.

Email Phishing Attacks — And Preventative Methods

Email Phishing Attacks — And Preventative Methods

by | May 4, 2023 | Email, Net10.net Blogs, Private Cloud Hosting, Ransomware

Email phishing attacks are Internet attacks where the attackers send emails that appear to be legitimate. However, their goal is to trick you into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords or financial details. Some can install harmful software on your computer or mobile devices. Here are some steps you can take to avoid falling victim to email phishing:

Be vigilant about emails from unknown senders: If you receive an email from an unknown sender or an email that looks suspicious, do not click on links or download any attachments.

Check links and attachments before clicking on them: Put your cursor over a link and look to see if the URL is secure. It should start with https://. Also, look carefully at the URL, as It may not be the website you visit after clicking the link. Tricks include misspelling words you may not catch and using a combination of letters such as an r and an n to look like an m, like this: rn. Clicking fake links means downloading a virus or allowing someone to install ransomware and take control of your device. If there is an attachment and you are unsure what it is about, don’t open it. That is another way someone can install a virus or ransomware on your computer or mobile devices.

phishing email link

Verifications: It is always a good idea to verify a request via phone or other communication channels (NOT one referenced in the suspicious email, but one that is known to you from your personal or business relationship with the sender). For example, title and escrow companies always do this by requiring a phone call to their office to verify wire instructions.

Use anti-phishing tools: Use anti-phishing tools provided by your email service provider or install anti-phishing software to help detect and block phishing attempts. See Tip #1 below.

Check the sender’s email address: Check the sender’s email address carefully to ensure that it matches the legitimate email address of the company or organization they claim to represent. See tip #2 below.

Don’t provide personal information: Never provide personal information, such as passwords or financial details, in response to an email request.

Keep software up to date: Keep your operating system and antivirus software up to date to protect against known vulnerabilities.

Be wary of urgent requests: Emails that demand an immediate response or threaten dire consequences if you don’t comply are a red flag. Do not respond and simply delete them. Mark as spam and block them.

 

Net10.net Quick Tips:

Consider upgrading your security to include a Virtual Private Network (VPN). You can still use your email accounts safely without one. However, the risk of getting phishing or malicious emails is significant. With a VPN, you can eliminate many dangers, and you will be able to make your email communication safe, secure, and private for you. We highly recommend ExpressVPN. Let us know if you have VPN questions. We are always glad to help!

Email headers contain lots of information, including sender/recipient details. Do a quick review to see if the sender’s information matches what you see in the from section of the message. If not, it may be a phishing attack. Here is an example from Outlook 365:

Click on the Message tab and select Tags to view Properties.
Next, find the Internet Headers section.
Look at the Received From details to determine who sent the email.
If something doesn’t look right, you may not want to respond!

 

email headers

If you don’t use Outlook, do a quick Google search for View Email headers and type the name of the app you use for step-by-step instructions, such as Gmail. Like this: How to view email headers for Gmail.

We hope this information about email phishing is helpful. If you have questions or other topics you want Net10.net to write about in our blog, just let us know at support@net10.net.