Be Your Own E-mail Police

5 simple steps that will put you back in control of your e-mail

Related links

• McAfee VirusScan
• McAfee Personal Firewall
• McAfee PC Security Suite

E-mail is a nightmare for clean freaks. No matter how fastidious you are, it's a good bet your inbox is filthy -- swimming with more viruses than a year-old dish sponge. Some e-mail messages are innocuous, but many contain programs that can let hackers take control of your computer. Others contain links that take you to Web sites that trick you into giving online thieves your personal data.

The bad news is that you'll probably never get rid of it all; the good news is that there are simple steps you can take to scrub away most of it. Here are 5 simple steps that will put you back in control of your e-mail:

(1) Vaccinate: All of the major anti-virus products for home computers contain a mail-scan function. Invest in an anti-virus program, keep it running and make sure to download the regular virus updates.

(2) Don't click on the link: "Phishing" scams dupe users into turning over their account numbers and other personal data by luring them to Web pages that look identical to legitimate sites run by companies such as Citibank, eBay and PayPal. Never click on a link in an e-mail asking you to update your account information. If you want to know if the request is real, go to the company's Web site in a separate browser window and send an e-mail query. Better yet, call the company's customer support line.

(3) Leave that attachment alone: Unsolicited e-mail attachments often contain viruses. Opening the attachment launches the virus, sidelining your computer and sending copies of itself to everyone in your e-mail address book. If you aren't expecting the attachment, don't open it. Ever.

(4) Skip the previews: Some of the more sophisticated viruses spread without any action on your part. As soon as you open a message in the "preview" window of your e-mail program, it can begin installing malicious programs on your computer. Users of Microsoft's Outlook e-mail program are particularly susceptible. Closing that window so that you have to double-click on a message in order to read it can provide another layer of protection.

(5) Don't panic: There's no need to hit the ceiling if you think your computer is infected. If you suspect hackers may have got hold of your financial data, contact one or all of the three major credit bureau -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- and ask them to put a fraud alert on your file. The fraud line for Equifax is 800-525-6285; for Experian it's 888-397-3742, and for TransUnion it's 800-680-7289.

(6) Use McAfee security products and services to help control spam.