Privacy Harbor™

We at PrivacyHarbor.com are pleased to announce that we have just released the first edition of our quarterly newsletter.  In it, you will find the latest information about privacy, our PrivacyHarbor.com service and PrivacyHarbor, Inc.

We would love to hear what you think. Please let us know what you like, do not like, and what you would want to see us add next time. We read all comments, and our newsletter, like our service, is built upon your feedback.  If you wish to subscribe, please visit us at PrivacyHarbor.com and then enter your email in the newsletter subscription area of our homepage.

We also invite everyone to visit us at www.PrivacyHarbor.com today, and see how easy it is to send and receive private email. We are your advocate in protecting your Internet communications, and we encourage everyone to take back your privacy with PrivacyHarbor.com.

Over the past six months or so there has been a lot of positive buzz surrounding PrivacyHarbor.com and our private email platform. We are thrilled that tens of thousands of people have subscribed to our service over that short period of time and the feedback has been very positive. With this initial success comes a lot of responsibility, and we are busier than ever listening to your comments and suggestions in order to continually enhance our service.

Our company is all about providing private Internet communications for everyone. By saying “everyone,” we are indeed saying that consumers and small businesses finally have a viable solution for private and secure email. We, and our subscribers, believe that we have created a solution for private email that is easy to use and inexpensive. In fact, we even offer a free, private email account.

So the question remains, why did we build a product for consumers and small businesses where so many others focus on the large Fortune 500 companies? The answer is simple; we believe that privacy is a right, even on the Internet. Most people already expect privacy in all other forms of communications, but may not think it is possible on the Internet. Advertisers, hackers and identity thieves have used this popular assumption to their benefit over the years and, as a result, there are now major problems such as spam, identity theft and unwanted target advertising.

All the major corporations on the Internet, including Google, Yahoo and Facebook make the vast majority of their money through advertising.  Privacy simply gets in the way of their business model, which is based on exploiting user information in order to provide targeted advertisements. At PrivacyHarbor, we have a different business model. We make money the old fashion way, by respecting our subscribers and the people they are communicating with, and by providing a great service. We are in the privacy business – not the advertising business.

We encourage everyone to visit us on www.PrivacyHarbor.com today, try private email and let us know what you think. Our services are being built on your feedback. You now have an advocate to protect your Internet communications and we encourage everyone to take back their privacy with PrivacyHarbor.com.

The holiday season has arrived, which for many families means it’s time to pull out the seasonal food recipes, prepare for a visit from the in-laws, and keep an eye out for the biggest holiday discounts. But one important task often overlooked by families during this busy time of year is to create an online safety checklist.

Before you make your next online gift purchase or update your social media profile, make sure you are aware of the following safety tips, geared to help protect the privacy and security of you and your family:

Online Purchases –

• Never buy gifts from websites that do not have SSL encryption. If your web browser doesn’t display a lock icon at the bottom of the window when you visit a website, then that website may not secure your credit card information.
• Be sure to use and update existing firewall and anti-virus software to prevent website cookies, viruses and spyware from damaging your computer or exposing your personal files.
• There are a number of fake holiday e-card and song lyric websites, phony seasonal discount web pages, as well as various email scams that show up during the holidays. Make sure to research the legitimacy of each organization before making your purchase or donation. McAfee recently released an article covering the “12 Scams of Christmas” that offers additional advice on what to look out for online this holiday season.

Social Media Websites –

• It may be tempting to provide your friends and family with constant updates over Twitter and Facebook about your holiday activities and when you’ll be away on vacation; however, publicly posted personal information can help thieves determine the best methods to break into your online accounts or even your home.
• When updating your social media profiles for the holidays, it is a good idea to avoid posting potentially inappropriate or explicit photos that might hurt your chances of getting a new job or promotion (sometimes too much peppermint schnapps and a cell phone camera is not the best combination).
• Avoid clicking on shortened or masked URLs posted in social media status updates, blogs, forums and chat rooms, unless the post comes from a trusted source and is free from spam-related content.

Email Privacy –

• Never include private information such as passwords, social security numbers or credit card information in emails sent through common webmail providers. These emails often pass through several unsecure web servers, exposing your private information to hackers, spammers and identity thieves.
• When going on vacation, avoid setting up auto-rely email messages for your personal email account that might alert robbers that you are out of town.
• Avoid opening emails from any sender you don’t recognize, even if they appear to represent a legitimate organization. Many phishing schemes involve emails that ask you to “login” to your account to take part in a holiday offer or to verify sensitive account information.  In many cases, the links in these emails send you to a fake login page designed to steal your credit card number and personal information. If are unsure whether the email you received came from a legitimate representative, call the organization directly to confirm.

PrivacyHarbor.com provides a  private email service that prevents spam, scams, viruses and identity thieves from ever entering your inbox, which will help keep you and your family safe this holiday season. Purchase a PrivacyHarbor.com yearly or lifetime private email account through the month of December and we will donate 5 percent of your purchase to the Toys for Tots Foundation.

As you shop for your friends and family this holiday season, consider giving the gift of privacy or treat yourself to a private email account and you will help a child in need. When you register a paid PrivacyHarbor yearly or lifetime account through the month of December, we will donate 5% of your purchase to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

Sending private and secure email messages through PrivacyHarbor.com ensures that your emails and personal information are kept private and safe. The PrivacyHarbor Personal Account includes Basic Account features, as well as additional compelling features, including:

• 5 GB of storage
• Send attachments up to 100 MB
• Delay sending a message
• Retract a sent message
• Read message status
• Customizable eBusiness cards
• Prevent forwarding and downloading of attachments

During this busy holiday season, it’s important to remember to stay safe online. Take precaution when posting information on public profiles and forums, and never share credit card or sensitive information using common email.

By purchasing a private email account you can help keep the private information of you and your family safe this holiday season while also giving back to kids in need.

Have a wonderful holiday and let us know if you have any questions about private, secure email solutions.

It’s that time of year when online purchases peak and many people are working with their financial advisers to review the past year and plan for the coming one. The Internet has become a convenient and standard tool for exchanging financial information, and email is now a staple in this online exchange of information. Unfortunately, email is routinely targeted by online scammers, hackers and identity thieves snooping for financial information.

Becoming aware of these online threats is the first step toward reducing your risks online. According to Identity Theft Fixes, each year approximately 10 million Americans become victims to identity theft. Of these individuals, an average of $1,800 to $14,000 is lost. Moreover, victims spend an average of 840 to 1,300 hours each year to resolve identity theft issues with their credit report and personal information.

Here are five steps you can take to help ensure your financial information is protected:

1) Keep security software active and up-to-date. Anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall protection can only combat new threats if the software is current. Set your security software to update automatically, and periodically scan your computer for viruses and spyware.

2) Make sure your OS and Web browser are current. Operating system companies issue security patches to repair flaws in their systems. Set your operating system and Web browser to automatically download and install these critical security patches.

3) Use private email to protect your information. Common email is exposed to spam, identity theft, and phishing scams to name a few. Using a private email service like PrivacyHarbor.com to send private and secure email ensures that your information is kept safe.

4) Password-protect your financial information. If you keep financial information stored on an electronic device, be sure to password-protect the information in case of theft. Do not store the passwords in the laptop or device.

5) Back-up your information. When you have important financial information stored on your computer, be sure to store the information externally on a flash drive, removable disk or external hard drive.

Taking proactive steps to protect your financial information will ensure a safer online experience. Contact us to learn more about how PrivacyHarbor.com can help protect your personal information during this busy financial season and secure it throughout the new year.

Ever wonder why the banner ads you see in your email happen to feature a product that you just purchased from your favorite online retailer? Or a highlight appears for a hotel deal to that quaint European city that you and your friend were just chatting about over instant message? These advertisements are no coincidence, and most email users want them stopped.

Many well known email programs scan your personal online conversations searching for information that allows them to sell to you, the unassuming user. According to the online study, “Americans Reject Tailored Advertising,” performed by the Annenberg School for Communication, University of California Berkeley School of Law, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, 66 percent of Internet users do not want marketers to send them tailored advertisements. Furthermore, when these users are informed that their personal content is being repurposed, in order to create these tailored advertisements, the results show that between 73 and 86 percent do not want such advertising.

As much of the Internet is being powered by advertising dollars, this problem is rampant. Such targeted invasions of privacy are not only beginning to catch the attention of email users, but the policy makers in Washington as well. The Tennessean reports that U.S. Representative Richard Boucher, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, is drafting legislation that will require websites to prominently disclose what information they gather on visitors as well as obtain user approval before collecting data to share with other advertising companies.

Even if Congress enacts such laws, online tracking of consumers will continue in some form or another, particularly by retailers, as highlighted in a recent USA Today article. So let’s start the discussion:

How do you feel about advertisers and retailers taking your personal information and creating tailored email advertising?

PrivacyHarbor.com private email does not mine or sell your information; we’re in the privacy business, not the advertising business. Feel free to contact us to learn more about this subject and the steps PrivacyHarbor.com takes provide you with secure email and to ensure your absolute privacy.

We are kicking off two special contest events this month that will offer Twitter and Facebook users a chance to win 12 free months of a private and secure, Executive email account.

Starting Tuesday, November 3, we will launch PrivacyHarbor’s Retweet Tuesdays on Twitter! Every Tuesday through December 11, check the PrivacyHarbor Twitter page at noon Pacific Time and retweet the specified message by Friday, 11:59 PM Pacific Time of that week for a chance to win one free year of a PrivacyHarbor Executive account!

We are also offering a chance to win one free year of an Executive account to new and existing fans of PrivacyHarbor on Facebook! Go to the PrivacyHarbor Facebook page, log on to Facebook and click “Become a fan” by Friday, December 11. Already a PrivacyHarbor Facebook fan? Current fans can win too if they refer a friend to become a fan of PrivacyHarbor’s Facebook page! A winner will be selected randomly on Friday, December 11.

Note: PrivacyHarbor employees, family members and vendors are not eligible to win the Retweet Tuesdays or Facebook Fans contests.

Best of luck to everyone and remember, the only way to win is to play!

Have you ever been walking down the street with a friend, talking loudly about an amusing personal story and then right as you got to the juiciest part you passed by a stranger on the street who happened to hear the whole thing? You probably didn’t think much of it since you didn’t know the person. But, what if later that day you went to a job interview and that same stranger who overheard your juicy conversation ended up interviewing you for the position? Talk about an embarrassing situation!

While this situation seems highly unlikely in a person’s day to day routine, this happens to people every day on the Internet. Juicy gossip and embarrassing stories about you, your friends and your family can get spread publicly across social media forums, profiles and message boards in plain view of employers, bosses, co-workers and other professionals. Ever wonder if the information you publicly posted about yourself might have cost you a new job or promotion?

There are no passing conversations on the Internet. Anything publicly posted about you will stay online, often in posterity for all of time – that’s why protecting your private information online is so important.

Some web users are under the misconception that the Internet offers the same privacy and protection as the “real world,” when in fact there are very few laws regulating one’s rights to online privacy. A recent article from the Japan Times by Bruce Schneier called, “Offhand but on Record” covers the top privacy concerns with today’s popular social media websites and the advertising partners that support them. Schneier calls for “comprehensive data privacy laws, protecting our data and communications regardless of where it is stored or how it is processed,” but stricter laws alone will not save users who continue to publicly post sensitive information.

Privacy education is the key. If you are going to use social media websites and blogging tools like Facebook, Twitter or WordPress, be aware of the content you publicly post and make sure you set your privacy settings to block sensitive information from public view. When using job boards and career networking websites like Jobdango or LinkedIn, make sure that your resume and profile are up-to-date and don’t contain errors, typos, or other information that could disqualify you from your future job or promotion.

There is a useful article on the, “10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know” that can provide social media users with additional tips to protect their privacy online while still utilizing social media websites.

As Internet technologies continue to expand the mining and sharing of information, online privacy will continue to be a growing concern. The best way to maintain your privacy online is to use social media and networking sites with caution and to spread the word about privacy concerns with other professionals online.

August 2009 was a big month for us here at PrivacyHarbor.com and one that will not be forgotten anytime soon. Why you ask? Well, to start, we officially launched both our new website www.PrivacyHarbor.com and our new look and feel of our private email service. The response has been fantastic, and the number of new customers in search of true email privacy has been astounding. As a team, we’re thrilled to be able to help our customers achieve private email dialogue. That being said, it is important to us that PrivacyHarbor.com meets your email needs. We ask you to tell us what you want in a private email service by completing our new survey!

The survey will take approximately four to six minutes to complete (really, we timed it!). We want to provide you with an ideal user experience, and would appreciate your important feedback. To thank you for taking our survey, you’ll  receive three free months service to our Personal or Executive Account memberships.

All existing customers will get the survey as a link in an email that you will receive over the next couple of days. Part of the survey asks questions about how you would improve PrivacyHarbor.com email. As a result, if you are not currently a customer, you would need to register for and account and then the survey will immediately be emailed to you.  Please note that the survey is designed for all types of respondents, regardless of your user level. Of course, the survey is anonymous, private and secure.

As always, please contact us with any questions or to learn more about PrivacyHarbor.

Today, the PrivacyHarbor team released our new Beacon Desktop Email Notifier, now available for download. This new feature will alert users via a small pop-up window on their desktop when they receive a new e-mail message, regardless of whether they are logged into their PrivacyHarbor email account.

The new Beacon Desktop Notifier is free for all accounts and includes the following features:

• Beacon Icon Status – Unique icons in your system tray will show you when you are online and have new messages, or are offline and have no new messages.

• Inbox Beacon Message Preview – When the Beacon is active, you will receive a notice informing you when new messages have arrived in your inbox.

• SnapGuard Beacon Message Preview – You will also be notified of new messages in SnapGuard. By default, you will be notified twice a day about messages from unknown recipients that go into SnapGuard.

• Compatible with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista (Please note that Mac OS X is currently unsupported).

To learn more about PrivacyHarbor or to sign-up for PrivacyHarbor email account, simply follow the links or contact us at support@privacyharbor.com.

As always, we love to hear from our customers! Feel free to let us know what you think of the new Beacon Desktop Notifier.