When you’re running a small business, keeping your data safe is a top priority. Here Orlando local IT support experts share safety tips for using company email.

Email is an important tool for communicating in business. We are constantly checking our inboxes for messages, calendar invitations, invoices, and more. It’s easy to take email safety for granted, but did you know that 45% of our emails are spam? You need to be diligent to keep your personal information and your company data  safe. Here is some valuable email safety advice from the Orlando local IT support experts at Dytech Group.

Be Careful What You Click

Hyperlinks in email are very common. It’s a great way to fit a long URL into a short word or phrase. It can also hide a malicious link. The first rule of thumb in email safety is to only click links from trusted senders. Even if you know the sender, be careful what you click. An email can appear to be from someone you know when it’s actually from a cybercriminal. 

Before you click a link, hover over it to see where it will take you. If the website looks right, and you know who sent the email, it’s likely safe to click. If anything about the email or the link looks suspicious, it’s best to delete it. 

One example of a common email scam uses a false bank notification that claims your account has been compromised and you need to change your password by clicking a link. Chances are, your bank would never send this type of email so you should call them directly before trusting such an email link.

Beware of Attachments

Email attachments are another way you can fall victim to a scam. Downloading that .pdf or .doc at the bottom of your email is a daily routine. But it’s also a way to download harmful software and viruses onto your computer. The virus can affect your personal system and the system of your entire company. Client data and financial information are vulnerable to this type of malware, so be careful what files you open from your email.  Orlando local IT support specialists suggest that if an email attachment looks strange, a good way to verify its legitimacy is to draft a new email to the author asking them if they did indeed send the email. You could also pick up the phone. A quick call can save you a lot of trouble. If your contact did not send the email in question, delete it immediately.

Use a Spam Filter

Emails from unwanted sources that do not necessarily contain harmful links or attachments are called spam. These emails clog our inboxes daily and deleting them takes valuable time away from income-producing activity. Anytime you enter your email address into an online form, you’ll likely be put on a mailing list and get dozens of unwanted messages. Most of the time, these emails are trying to sell you something and you have to unsubscribe from each and every one to hopefully be taken off their list. Wouldn’t it be nice to not get these junk emails in the first place?

That’s the job of a spam filter. Dytech Group’s Orlando local IT support specialists can connect you with the best spam filter for your email system. This filter looks at every incoming email and tags it for anything you might not be interested in. It can also check for suspicious emails which will cut down on viruses and scam links making it to your employees’ inboxes. 

When you have a small business, or any size business for that matter, time equals money. Having to delete half of your inbox so you can find the emails you want wastes valuable company time. It can also make your email server run slower because of the sheer volume of incoming emails. Having a spam filter also keeps your employees and your business safe from phishing scams like those mentioned above. 

We check our inboxes constantly while at work. It’s easy to let our guard down when there is so much we need to accomplish in a day. With the help of a Orlando local IT support expert, your business can cut down on wasted time spent on unwanted emails. Your employees will be safer knowing their inboxes are free from suspicious content that puts your system at risk. Contact our Orlando local IT support specialists at Dytech Group today to evaluate your system and recommend ways to make it safer.