Recommendations for Email Security

Below are tips for using your email more safely.
1. Minimize the use of attachments
Copy and paste text as often as possible.

2. Question unsolicited document
Unsolicited bulk mail and commercial email can put you and your organization at risk. Questioning it means not opening it, not passing it on, but make sure to notify your system administrator immediately.

3. Never respond to spam email
For a spammer, one "hit" among thousands of mailings is enough to justify the practice. Instead, if you want a product that is advertised in a spam email, go to a Web site that also carries the product, inquire there, and tell them you do not approve of spam methods and will not patronize a company that uses spammers.

4. Never respond to the spam email's instructions to reply with the word "remove"
This is just a trick to get you to react to the email. It alerts the sender that a
human is at your address, which greatly increases its value. If you reply, your address is placed on more lists and you receive more spam.

5. Never sign up with sites that promise to remove your name from spam lists
These sites are of two kinds: (1) sincere, and (2) spam address collectors. The first kind of site is ignored (or exploited) by the spammers, and the second is owned by them. In both cases, your address is recorded and valued more highly because you have just identified it as read by a human.

6. Keep your virus protection up-to-date
Always make sure that the virus protection in your computer is in use and up to date.

7. Question executable programs received via email
This is the common way of passing viruses. Do not open them, do not pass them on, and notify your system administrator if you receive them.

8. Disable macros on your machine
To do this, you will need to open the application on Word 2000, select Tools, then select Macros, then select Security, and then checked High: Only signed macros from trusted sources will be allowed to run. Unsigned macros are automatically disabled.

9. Make sure that file extensions are viewable
This will alert you to files of the following types: .exe, .vbs, and .shs. To view file extensions in Windows select the Start menu, then select Settings, then select Control Panel, then select Folder Options, then select View, then UNCHECK the command that reads Hide File Extensions for Known file Types.

10. Notify the person you received an infected file from
This helps them to correct the problem within their system before passing the virus on to other users.

11. Monitor your transactions.
Review your order confirmations, account operations and trading statements as soon as you receive them to make sure that you are being charged only for transactions you made. Immediately report any irregularities.

12. Do not reply to any e-mail that requests your personal information.
Be very suspicious of any business or person who asks for your password, PIN (Personal Identification Number), or other highly sensitive information.

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Recommendations for Home Computer Security

Task 1 – Install and use an Anti-Virus Program
A virus is a program that runs on your computer system without your permission. This means that when the virus runs, somebody else is using your computer possessions. A virus may also be destroying your files or disclosing them to others who aren't otherwise allowed to see them. An anti-virus program attempts to stop this from happening.

Task 2 – Keep your system Patched
Programs that need to be patched are weak spots through which intruders can more easily gain access to your computer possessions. Patching attempts to eliminate this kind of access. To protect your possessions, you need to keep all of the software you've purchased patched with all of the patches provided by the vendors who write that software. Vendors will tell you where to find and how to patch the software you have purchased from them.

Task 3 - Use Care When Reading Email with Attachments
Email attachments that you were not expecting are usually viruses, so the comments from Task 1 also apply here. Whether they are viruses or not, they are most often programs that run on your computer system without your permission. By using care, you are attempting to stop running unwanted programs on your computer system.

Task 4 – Install and Use a Firewall Program
A firewall program attempts to keep outside access out and limits inside access to outside resources. That is, it works like your locked front door that keeps unwanted people out and your toddler in. If intruders can't get to your computer resources, they can't use them for their purposes.

Task 5- Make Backups of Important Files and Folders
If a file or folder is destroyed accidentally, by an intruder, or in some other way, then a backup provides another copy. You are keeping what is yours by having more than one copy.

Task 6- Use Strong Passwords
These days, most of computer access users’ login selecting a strong password makes it harder for intruders to access your computer resources, because those passwords are harder to guess.

Task 7 - Use Care When Downloading and Installing Programs
The Internet is a powerful resource for finding and using the work of others to enhance your computing resources. Programs are one example.
However, not all programs on the Internet are what they say they are. Some programs are viruses like those described in Task 1, while others are like the email attachments described in Task 3.

By taking care before downloading and installing these programs, you are trying to improve the chances that these programs are what they say they are, will do to your computer resources what you want them to do, and will do nothing more.

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Recommendations for Password Security

Pass phrases and Passwords
“If you've ever lost your wallet, you know the sense of vulnerability that comes with it. Someone might be walking around with your identification, pretending to be you. If someone steals your passwords, they could do the same thing online. "
Weak passwords

You probably already aware of not creating passwords using any combination of consecutive numbers or letters such as "12345678", "lmnopqrs", or adjacent letters on your keyboard such as "qwerty." And you've probably heard that using your login name, your spouse's name, or your birthday as your password are also big no-nos, or that you should never use a word that can be found in the dictionary, in any language? & even common words spelled backwards (Although at times becomes hard to remember)

Step 1: Create strong passwords that you can remember

The advice that we should follow is to come up with a completely random combination of numbers and symbols. We all know that a strong password is the one that, includes a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols and is easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess. This is the right approach but at times we tend to make the password complex for us to remember and resultant, we take a note of it on paper. Doing so we defeat the purpose of Strong Passwords, why? Chances are you would write it down and keep it in the top drawer of your desk and then it's No longer such a Great Password after all.

The easiest way to create a strong password is to come up with a pass phrase. A pass phrase is a sentence that you can remember, like "My son Aiden is three years older than my daughter Anna." You can make a pretty strong password by using the first letter of each word of the sentence. For example, msaityotmda, well we all know that we have to include numbers special characters for it to be valid.

You can make this password valid & stronger by using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that look like letters. Substitute a @-sign instead of a, $-sign instead of an s,! Instead of an I or 1, (for c, 0 for o and so on. Well, you were not the first person to do that.)

For example, using the same memorable sentence and a few tricks, your password is now M$@!3y0tmd@ If you still think that is too hard to remember, you could try a more common phrase, such as "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." If you are using a common phrase, make sure to inject at least one number or symbol into the password. Such as U (t@0DnT.

Step 2: Keep your passwords a secret

Keeping your passwords safe means you have to keep them secret. Do not give them to friends and do not write them down and keep them at your desk or in an unprotected file on your computer. Your desk and that friend may not have the best motives when it comes to your privacy.
You should also be wary when giving them to the Web Site where you created the password in the first place. A new way in which hackers trick people into giving away their passwords and other personal information is through a scam called "phishing." Phishing is the practice of sending millions of bogus e-mails that appear to come from popular Web sites. The e-mails look so official that many people will respond to requests for their login name and password

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Protect your Computer and Internet session

1. Never share your computer

2. Use a password on your PC to prevent unauthorized access to your information

3. Be wary of opening email messages from untrustworthy sources, especially if they contain attachments

4. Do not reply to emails that request your personal information. They may
appear to come from a trusted friend or business, but they are designed to trick you in disclosing sensitive personal information

5. Use personal firewalls and anti-virus software

6. Avoid downloading software such as screen savers, desktop themes, games, and other executable type programs from websites that are obscure or unidentifiable. These programs may contain Trojan viruses that would enable hackers to monitor or take over your PC

7. Disable all unnecessary services running on your computer

8. Always verify that the site is the genuine Emirates Islamic Bank/EIFB site

9. Do not leave your internet trading session unattended at any time

10. Before you start your internet trading session, ensure that all other internet sessions are closed. If your internet trading session is open, we recommend that you do not open other internet browsers at the same time

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Protect your Password and Personal Information

1. Do not use passwords that are easy to guess, e.g. your name, your date of birth, your telephone number(s), etc

2. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters as well as numbers

3. Do not share your password with anyone and do not use the same password for other websites

4. Change your password frequently and never write it down in any where

5. Always log into Internet trading via our sites at the following addresse:https://tadawul.eifb.ae/etrade/en/index.jsp and not through other links

6. Avoid logging into Internet for trading from Internet Cafés, Libraries or public sites

7. Always close the window once you have logged out of your Internet trading session

Important: No one at Emirates Islamic Financial Brokerage (EIFB) will ever ask you for your internet-trading password. If someone does ask you for it, they do not represent EIFB and under any circumstances, you should not provide this information.

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