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On-line Security

Why is on-line security so important?

Each internet user has the personal responsibility to ensure that their personal information on-line is secure. By developing an effective understanding of on-line security best practices and by following a few simple guidelines, you can help to safeguard sensitive information relating to yourself, your friends, family or work colleagues.

With your help, we can also work towards reducing the frequency of fraudulent on-line activities.

The importance of selecting a secure password

Selecting a strong password is often the first step towards protecting yourself on-line. By following a few of the simple guidelines listed below, you can significantly improve the strength of your password.

What to do

  • Select a password which is at least 8 characters in length
  • Use a combination of lower case letters, upper case letters and numerals
  • Combine two words to form a new word
  • Substitute a number for a letter (eg. S = 5, E = 3 I or L = 1, 0 = O)
  • Select a number of characters which will be memorable to you, but will also be unique.
  • Change your password every 6 months

What to avoid

  • Passwords should not contain personal details such your username, name, DOB, address or maiden name
  • Avoid using words which can be found in a dictionary or an Atlas
  • Try to avoid using the same password for multiple accounts
  • Avoid repeating letters, numbers or sequences in your password (eg. Qwerty88 or Abc123456)
  • Do not store your password in obvious places, it is always safer to commit your password to memory

Tips for remembering your password

  • Select a password which may appear random, but has personal significance for you. Eg.
    - Use the first letters of the title of your favourite song, book or quote
    - Combine the names of your first two pets to form a unique word
  • Use words which you have made up, a slang nickname
  • Create a strong master password. You could then use this password for multiple accounts by making small changes (eg. if the password is for Eftel, you could add “Ef” after the 5th character of your password).

Now that I have my password, how can I keep it secure?

One of the most common ways that scammers can gain access to your personal information is through “phishing” e-mails.

Phishing is a term used to describe the fraudulent process of attempting to obtain confidential information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details via the Internet, by posing as a trustworthy source.

For example: A fraudulent e-mail claiming to be sent from Eftel, encourages you to reply with your personal account information including your username, password and date of birth. This e-mail also threatens that unless this information is sent through within the next 48 hours, your Eftel webmail account will be closed.

How is Eftel actively dealing with these phishing e-mails?

As part of our ongoing effort to ensure your on-line safety, please rest assured that we are making every effort to identify, report and block the source of these phishing e-mails.

This page also includes regular examples of the latest phishing e-mail alerts which target Eftel or any of our subsidiaries.

We are confident that by keeping you fully informed of these fraudulent activities, combined with the continued vigilance of our customers in reporting these scam e-mails, we will minimise any inconvenience they may cause.

Quick tips to help you identify “phishing” e-mail scams

  1. Check the “From” e-mail address line
    Phishing e-mails may contain a fake e-mail address in the "From" e-mail sender line. If you have not seen this e-mail address from Eftel before, the “reply to” address is not a standard Eftel.com.au address, or the e-mail address has been slightly altered (eg efftel.com or Eftel.net) then the e-mail you have received could be fraudulent.
  2. Check the Eftel customer greeting
    The distributors of phishing e-mails will generally not have access to your name, therefore many of these e-mails will contain greetings such as “Dear Account User” or “Dear Eftel e-mail User”.
  3. Look for response deadlines
    Many of these phishing e-mails will set a deadline for the update of your personal account information. These e-mails also claim that unless your account information is updated before a specified deadline, your Eftel e-mail account will be closed.
  4. E-mail links or forms
    Phishing e-mails generally contain a link which will redirect you to a bogus website or space in the e-mail to enter in your personal information. Please be aware that these external links can be faked and when in doubt, it is always safer to type www.eftel.com.au directly into your internet browser.
  5. Look at the sign-off name and position
    Phishing e-mails will generally be signed-off with a generic sign-off such as “Eftel Support Team” or “Eftel.net.au Team”.
  6. A request to reveal personal information
    Please be aware that Eftel will never request that you disclose your personal details via e-mail due to the security implications. Any e-mail which requests your Eftel username, password, date of birth, state or credit card information is clearly a phishing e-mail and should be treated with extreme caution.

I suspect that I have been sent a fraudulent e-mail. What should I do?

If you have received an e-mail you suspect is masquerading as an official Eftel communication, please e-mail our customer accounts team support@eftel.com.au.

To help us to identify and block the source of “phishing” directly relating to Eftel, we also request that you send through the fraudulent e-mail message headers to our customer accounts team.

To view these e-mail headers in Eftel Webmail simply:

  • Log into Eftel Webmail
  • Open the message you'd like to view headers for
  • Click the "View Full Header" option
  • The full headers will appear in a new window
  • Copy and paste this text at the top of the fraudulent e-mail in question and send it through to support@eftel.com.au

For more information on how to locate these headers, please visit the Gmail header support page.

What other steps can I take to improve my security on-line?

Delete any e-mails you suspect are SPAM.
If you receive an e-mail you suspect is SPAM, we recommend that you delete the e-mail immediately.

Please do not reply to these e-mails or click on any links they may contain, as this will just confirm to the spammer that your e-mail address is currently active and may result in your e-mail receiving more SPAM.

Download and install regular updates and patches for your operating system
Check Windows Update regularly and follow the directions to install the latest security patches and critical updates onto your system.

To enter Microsoft Windows Update, please select the “Windows Update” option on your start menu and follow the prompts.

Install and update third party Anti-Virus protection
A computer virus is a program which can infect a target computer and copy itself to spread among other connected computers.

Once infected, your computer may no longer be secure and could be used for a number of fraudulent activities including on-line identity theft, modification of your personal files, stealing your personal information, distributing SPAM e-mail or spreading the virus to other computer systems.

Anti-Virus software is used to identify, quarantine and remove any viruses which may be present on your computer, as well as helping to safeguard your system against subsequent infections.

There are a number of free anti-virus alternatives which may give you a basic level of cover, however for more comprehensive cover you may wish to consider subscribing to one of the following providers:

  • AVG Anti-Virus - Free Anti-virus and Anti-spyware security software for Windows XP
  • Avira Anti-Virus – Free Anti-virus, Anti-Spam and firewall protection
  • Norton Anti-Virus - Norton Anti-virus, Internet security, and anti-spyware home services

*Please note that Eftel does not provide support for these third party software applications.

Install and update Adware and Spyware removal tools
Spyware / Adware is potentially harmful software which is designed to infiltrate and/or damage a computer system without the informed consent of the end user.

Any personal information intercepted via spyware may then be used by an unauthorized third party to commit fraudulent activities.

To safeguard yourself against Spyware or Adware, you may wish to consider install and regularly run and update the following third party applications.

How can I learn more about on-line security?

For more information on how to protect yourself and your family on-line as well as updates relating to the latest “phishing” e-mails, please visit:

Where can I find examples of phishing e-mails?

A list of fraudulent e-mails and the dates on which they were received by one or more of our customers, can be found below.

If you have responded to an e-mail similar to one of those listed below, please contact our customer accounts team on 1300 550 550 as soon as possible as your username and password may need to be reset.

Past phishing alerts list

**Please note that the following fraudulent e-mail examples are NOT official Eftel Communications**

Phishing Alert Date: 18/03/2010 **NEW**

-------Original Message-------
From: "Technical Support Team" <************
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 0:00 AM
Subject: Dear User

Dear User,


Eftel.net.au Internet wish to inform you that there is a
congestion in your account, this is due to Phishing mails and
Internet spam. You have been contacted so that you will confirm
your account to avoid losing it to Internet spam. Please
fill the Technical Help Form below and send it
back to enable us update your account.

*First Name:..............
*Last Name:...............
*E-mail:..................
*Users Name:..............
*Password:................

Eftel.net.au provides technical support which includes
troubleshooting guide,technical specifications and related links
for its Internet subscribers. Thank you for your understanding. We
apologize for any inconveniences
this may have cause you!

Sign,
Technical Support Team
?2010 Eftel.net.au Internet. All Rights Reserved

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