Tag: My Protected Mail

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How to Stop an Email Being Forwarded (for Free)

handing a piece of paper off over the table. How to stop emails being forwarded feature image

The risk of a data breach is higher than ever and still, not many people realise that your emails can be a breach of GDPR!  

All it takes is for someone to forward an email containing sensitive data to unwanted 3rd parties and bada bing, bada boom, you’re in breach.

(there are other ways your email can breach GDPR – check those out here)

5 Ways Your Emails Could Breach GDPR

So, how do you solve this?

GDPR Email Security in the Data Protection Era

Small and micro-business owners or entrepreneurs aren’t exempt from GDPR and they must still find solutions that will make them compliant.

While large enterprises have the means to implement the newest security measures easily, smaller businesses and entrepreneurs just don’t often have access to the right technology.

The simplest way to protect the data is to encrypt your email so you retain control over all data you send. Encryption ensures that only the contents of your email are accessible by the right recipient. If somebody else gets it by mistake or because it was forwarded, they won’t be able to read the contents.

The alternative is having a ‘Do Not Forward’ function on that prohibits the receiver from forwarding the email in the first place. Best case, you have both in place for full protection

How to Encrypt Your Email Messages

You can do this with Microsoft Azure Information Protection (AIP), which helps businesses classify and protect emails and other documents with a labelling system.

This system can even automatically detect sensitive data when configured correctly. With AIP, only the rightful recipient can read the email, and they won’t be able to forward it to anyone.

Unfortunately, this solution can be pricey for smaller businesses and the tool is focused towards the larger enterprises.

Smaller businesses and entrepreneurs need to look elsewhere.

My Protected Mail Helps You Keep Email Data Confidential

This is where My Protected Mail can help you here. This solution is similar to AIP but specifically focuses on providing services to small businesses, micro-businesses, and individuals. My Protected Mail offers encryption services (EaaS – encryption as a service) for your email communication. This benefits business owners because:

  • My Protected Mail not only uses the same principle as AIP but also the same architecture – it’s powered by Microsoft 365 Azure Information Protection.
  • The encryption process is automatic and super easy to use. When emailing through My Protected Mail, it will be encrypted automatically, giving you control over all data you are sending.
  • Each email you send through the system is also automatically flagged as “Do not forward.” This ensures all contents of the email stay with the recipient and cannot be shared with other parties.

 

How to Use My Protected Mail to Encrypt Email Messages

My Protected Mail is a cloud-based solution and doesn’t require any additional software installation on your part; you just need to make a few changes in the way you send your email. Here’s how:

    1. Instead of putting the recipient address into the recipient header, you will put [email protected] in there.
    2. The recipient email address goes to the Subject line instead.
    3. When you have finished writing your email, hit Send, and that’s it!

(Plus it works on whatever device or service you’re using so can work on a MAC too)

Sending Encrypted Email From a MAC

The recipient will get an email that will require an OTP (one-time passcode) to access the email. This passcode is received once the recipient clicks the link “Sign in with a one-time passcode.”

The best thing is you can try it out for free as the Free plan allows you to send up to fifteen emails per month and includes basic reply functionality (meaning you will continue the conversation protected).

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Top 10 Software and Tech Solutions for Small Businesses

Don’t shy away from technology in your business! It’s time to get acquainted with some of the best software and tech solutions for small businesses at the moment.

1. Encrypt emails for free with My Protected Mail

Of course we’re going to start with one of our own products! The introduction of GDPR has placed a renewed emphasis on email security. All small businesses have a duty to protect the data of their customers, clients, and employees. A reliable, straightforward way to protect data sent electronically is to use encryption.

Encrypted emails can only be viewed by the sender and specified receivers; they are protected from interception, even when an email is forwarded.

My Protected Mail is a tech solutions for small businesses that does this for free. There’s no software to install; simply send your email to a dedicated mailbox, and the platform will issue a Microsoft Protected Email that can be accessed only by the intended recipient. There’s also scope to add enhanced features for a reasonable monthly fee for developers to encrypt web portal or app communication. Try My Protected Mail here.

2. Defend your business from online attacks with Acronis Ransomware Protection

Ransomware attacks, in which malicious software blocks access to devices with the aim of extorting money from the owner, can completely devastate a small business. Not to mention the risk of a data breach. It’s critically important to proactively prepare; you can find out more by clicking here.

Ransomware protection software mitigates this risk, and it doesn’t have to cost the earth! Acronis Ransomware Protection monitors suspicious behaviour, blocks malicious applications, encrypts files, and recovers damaged data; all for free.

3. Organise every aspect of your business with Asana

Asana is a project management platform that helps your entire team to stay organised and efficient. It allows you to create projects and tasks, assign team members, set deadlines, allocate documents, run reports, and myriad other jobs. It’s suitable for use on computers and mobile devices; even when travelling, you can keep on top of your business!

Asana also interacts seamlessly with 100 other platforms, helping to manage emails, files, calendars, workflows, and dozens of other tasks from one place, simplifying your business processes.

4. Take storage to the cloud! 

Cloud-based storage has proven itself to be a reliable and economical alternative to traditional hard drives and servers. The key benefits to small businesses include cost-effectiveness, automatic backup and recovery, remote accessibility from all devices, and no ongoing server maintenance.

There are countless services to choose from, but our favourites are Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive. All have common features, such as free storage (although the amount varies; 2GB for Dropbox, 5GB for OneDrive, and a whopping 15GB for Google Drive), document collaboration, link sharing, and file privacy. You can also upgrade to a monthly plan for expanded storage.

5. Automatically guard sensitive information with Azure Information Protection

Azure Information Protection (AIP) from Microsoft is a cloud-based tech solutions for small businesses that automatically encrypts emails and files. The system is managed across all Office applications using labels, which are configured to detect sensitive data and protect it. For example, if a credit card number is entered into an Excel spreadsheet, a rule can be set up to prompt the user to protect the information automatically.

Traditionally this can be quite difficult to set up for small businesses, but we created an Azure Information Protection for Small businesses online course to make it easy for you, regardless of whether or not you’re a techie!

6. Bring the team together with Zoom video conferencing

No matter how scattered your team is, video conferencing fosters the collaborative spirit that can otherwise be absent when working remotely. You needn’t be together to succeed together.

Zoom is a complete video conferencing service that includes high-definition online meetings, webinars, instant messaging, document sharing, whiteboards, virtual breakout rooms, calendar integration, and analytic data for meeting organisers. It can be accessed from computers and smart devices; so travelling team members can still participate!

There’s a free version of this tech solutions for small businesses with essential functionality that may be suitable for some small businesses, or there are monthly packages that include expanded features.

7. Protect your business with ESET antivirus

Malware attacks can be extremely disruptive to small businesses; leading to potential loss of files, equipment, and revenue. A high-quality antivirus is therefore essential.

ESET has a strong reputation for keeping computer equipment safe from malware, including viruses, ransomware, rootkits, worms and spyware. It’s easy to use, low in power-consumption, and backed by 30 years of experience and 110 million global users. A free trial is available, with the full version priced from £29.99 per year for one user.

8. Clean up your computer with MyDefrag

When we create files on a computer, they are broken up by a process called fragmentation; this is completely normal, and helps files to fit on a hard disk. However, repeated fragmentation makes reading and writing files a chore for your computer. Defragmentation is essentially a spring clean; a process that puts files back together, boosting your computer’s onward performance.

Windows comes with a built-in defragmentation program, but there are more efficient alternatives. MyDefrag is the best of the bunch; it works quickly and can accommodate external storage. Ultimately, this nifty little program helps your business to avoid slow equipment, repairs, and replacements. For more ways to speed up your computer’s performance, check out our free course here.

9. Cut your phone costs with VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is the technology that facilitates phone calls via the internet. It’s cheaper to make calls by VoIP than a standard landline, and you’ll notice a huge improvement in sound clarity.

The best VoIP service for small businesses in the UK is VoipFone; it’s easy to set up, with excellent customer support, reasonable prices, and a free trial. Global businesses looking for similar features are recommended to try Ring Central or Vonage.

10. Keep on top of your finances with online invoicing

Invoicing is a critical aspect of small business management; online solutions make the process efficient by collating due payments, generating invoices, sending them, and overseeing the collection process.

Invoices contain sensitive information, so it’s important to work only with a trusted platform. Check out this post to find out how small businesses should protect their financial security when using online invoicing.

The most reputable platforms are Freshbooks, Due, Invoicera, And Co. and Harvest. All have at least one free option, whether a trial or essential version, and each has paid subscriptions, which vary in price according to the features you need.

Need help with your IT or tech solutions for small businesses or have a question on software to suit your small business? Join our free support community here.

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How to Send Encrypted Emails Without Installing Anything

If you want to protect the personal data that you send and reduce the risk of a breach, you’ll want to encrypt your emails or use an email encryption service! Did you know that you can send encrypted emails without installing anything?

Why would you want to send encrypted emails? 

You may think that encrypted emails don’t apply to you or they are a bit too “techy” to use. But, we’re making it simpler because hackers don’t care whether you’re techy or not. There are some other instances where you might want to send encrypted emails (for industries prone to email breaches check out our other article here.)

  1. If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur communicating about employee/subcontractor personal data, sharing sensitive information or ideas and secrets you want to protect.
  2. You’re sending attachments that contain personal information, e.g. recruiters sending CVs, accountants handling account data, members of the public sending copies of ID or official documents.
  3. Lawyers sending case-specific information
  4. Developers trying to create encrypted messages from their web portal

But, there are a few issues with the solutions that are out there at the moment: 

  • They require you to use a different email client entirely (and sometimes they aren’t user-friendly for beginners)
  • The other person (recipient) can’t read the encrypted email if they aren’t on the same service
  • You need to install an extension, app or program onto your computer (which many businesses won’t allow as it is directly on the network) in order to use them at all

How do you send encrypted emails without installing anything?

This is something we’ve developed. Encrypted emails as a service and it’s really simple. Anyone can use it (whether you’re techy or not). Simply:

  1. Write your email as normal
  2. Put “[email protected]” in the “To” field
  3. Add your recipient in the “subject” field
  4. Hit send

Test it right now: 

  1. Write your email as normal
  2. Put “[email protected]” in the “To” field
  3. Add your recipient in the “subject” field
  4. Click Send

It works on mobile, MAC or PC as well as any existing platform you’re on. Here’s what the process looks like from a MAC:

What the receiver will see (and do) to read the encrypted email:

In Gmail

In Outlook

If you want to protect your emails and your data for free, check out My Protected Mail for more!