Email Security and Safeguards Published Nov. 17, 2008 By Senior Airman Steven Bruce 21st Space Wing Information Assurance PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- While you may not be aware of it, there are numerous threats to you via e-mail. Often, emails try to get you to click and follow a link, download a file or provide personal information. How do you identify these threats? Most of the time these threats have misspelled words, a false sense of urgency or ask you to provide an unusual amount of information about yourself. You can protect yourself by not providing any information over the Internet unless you initiate the conversation. For example, it would be better if you email your bank at an email address you know is official and they ask you for information, rather than freely giving it out to anyone who e-mails you. Furthermore, one of the more useful features of Microsoft Outlook is the ability to digitally sign emails by using the PIN associated with your Common Access Card. By doing this, you can be assured the email is coming from the intended source. Bottom line...make sure you don't provide important information to unknown addresses and don't trust anything that has web site links or attachments that isn't digitally signed.