From the Desk of Janet Barclay

Yesterday I blogged about some of the changes that have taken place in recent years in the ways that we network and market our businesses. As I looked at the many birthday greetings I received, I realized that’s another thing that’s changed. In addition to telephone calls, cards, and emails, I received warm wishes in many different forms in Facebook as well as in my blog comments, which was just wonderful. Thank you!

I have always enjoyed sending and receiving e-cards, and I think it’s sad that many people will no longer send or open e-cards because they’ve experienced or heard about a computer becoming infected with a virus sent in this manner. Although it’s wise to be cautious, by learning how to recognize the difference between a real e-card and a malicious one, you can continue enjoying this form of communication.

Tip #1 – Valid e-cards will always identify the sender. Yesterday I received six e-cards sent from five different sites, and every one of them included the sender’s name in the subject line. On the other hand, in my spam folder I found a message, supposedly from e-cards@americangreetings.com, with the subject line You have got a new E-Card from your friend! That was the first red flag.

Tip #2 – Valid e-cards do not include attachments. Since it was my birthday, I thought I’d take a peek at my anonymous e-card, just in case one of my friends was trying to be mysterious. (By the way, if you’re sending an e-card, you should use your real name if you don’t want the recipient to assume it’s spam.) I cautiously opened it and was surprised to see a cute photo and a poem. It looked very authentic (click the picture to see an enlargement) and when I moused over the various links I could see that they all pointed to the real American Greetings site. However, there was still nothing identifying the sender, and I quickly spotted the second red flag – a sentence telling me to open the attachment to see the complete card. Whether it’s an e-card or a regular email, you should NEVER open an attachment from someone you don’t know.

Tip #3 – Keep your anti-virus program up to date. If you open a malicious e-card that appears to be from someone you know, you should still be safe, as long as your anti-virus is up-to-date. I am amazed at the number of people who install a anti-virus program, but don’t regularly download new virus definitions, or who don’t renew their subscription when it runs out. An outdated anti-virus program offers you very little protection, since new viruses come out constantly.

With these tips in mind, why don’t you go and send an e-card to someone special today?