A SHARED LOVE OF NURSING
Leading up to National Nurses Week, Tami reached out to our RNs and asked to hear about their beginnings, reflections on the profession, and what brought each to Night Nurse.
Thank you for everyone that responded! This edition includes the first two stories we received, from Michela Carollo-Beaven and TammyleeLeBouef. We hope to learn more about your background, too!
Earlier this spring, you may have seen something extra in your paycheck dated March 19. Each year, we provide an annual bonus to all team members who have been with us for at least one year, including nurses, dispatchers, and our headquarters staff. We want to share our success with all who share their best with us!
We sincerely thank you for your good work, particularly in these very challenging times through the pandemic, as we consistently maintain high standard quality service. We couldn’t ask for a better team!
UNDERSTANDING EMAIL VIRUS PREVENTION
How safe is the information on your computer? Maybe not as secure as you think. A recent report shows that there is a new cyberattack every 39 seconds. Perhaps most importantly, 95% of breaches are due to pilot errors – simply our own faults. In many cases, viruses enter our computers when we click on links or view images received in emails.
To help keep your computer safe and compliant, our resident IT Security Expert Dan Holladay offers some simple things you can do to protect yourself from bad or dangerous emails.
Rule #1: Install virus protection software on all of your computers!
This is really the simplest measure you can take. There are many options, and I use ESET Internet Security. Most virus programs are quite affordable, but even a free version (available from most vendors) is far better than nothing. Note: Windows Defender, which is pre-installed on every computer, is not even close enough to do the job properly. Do not count on it as your primary protection.
Rule #2: Configure your email reader to protect you.
Which program do you use to read your emails? Whether it’s Outlook, Gmail, Thunderbird or any other email reader, here are some basic steps that will make a big difference:
• Don’t auto-load images. Images can carry viruses, so literally just allowing your email to show images can infect you. If you know the sender and believe it’s not a virus, then have a look at the images. Again, a good anti-virus program will usually detect and delete infected images and do the work for you, but be diligent! Set your reader to block images as the default setting.
• If you use Outlook, one of the most popular readers, see this article: How to disable automatic image downloads for email in Outlook. You can also use Outlook’s features to identify spam. Yes, this takes a little work but the end result is very rewarding. Here are a few tips to get you started: 6 ways to manage emails and control spam in Outlook.
Rule #3: Pay Attention! Hackers are out to get us.
Don’t click a link in an email unless you’re sure it’s safe. Here’s how to check: Hover your mouse over the link to see where it really goes. If the email is supposedly from American Express, the destination address should show AmericanExpress.com. If it says anything else, it’s probably suspicious. See the example of a deceptive link below:
Notice in the picture above the “click here” link actually goes to a different website. That is certainly suspicious.
Rule #4: Be Careful When Opening Attachments
Even if you receive an email that looks legit (like from your boss), still be very wary of any attachments. If your anti-virus software is good enough, the attachment will automatically be removed. If not, put it on the desktop, right click it and have your virus program scan it. Under virtually no circumstances should you click the “Enable Macros” button (typically in a Word or PDF document) when opening an attachment. Unless you’re really, really, really sure the sender even knows what a Word macro even is! Think about it, how many people do you know that use Word or PDF macros?? They have their place, but they are reasonably rare. In most cases, it’s a hacker.
Dan Holladay,
IT Department