Mendocino Community Network

MCN offers a wide range of free and low cost options for customers to increase the security during use of our Internet services.  Please keep in mind that to use some of these services you must have software on your computer capable of performing the necessary security functions

Encrypted E-Mail: MCN offers both TLS and SSL encrypted e-mail for both your e-mail logins and transfer of e-mail messages to and from the MCN mail servers. All of the newer e-mail programs support these protocols. MCN has a web page to walk you through how to set up your e-mail program to take advantage of these on the MCN Special E-Mail Features page. Both our new and old webmail systems conduct all transactions through a secure connection.

Encrypted FTP login: MCN offers secure file transfer protocol (FTP) login and transport of your of files from your computer to your website. Many new FTP programs have this capability, and there is a simple add on to the Firefox browser called FireFTP which allows secure file transfer to your website from your Firefox browser.

Secure Certificates: All customers with websites on our Apache based Linux cluster have access to a generic secure certificate on our servers so that end users can communicate with your site via a secure link when needed. Our billing information website at https://billing.mcn.org also uses a secure connection. MCN also sells secure certificates for individual domain names starting at $105 per year.

SecureLink: For customers wanting security beyond the services mentioned above while using wi-fi hotspots, MCN offers SecureLink for $5.99 per month or $60 for the entire year. More and more people are using wi-fi connections in hotels, coffee shops, and Internet cafes when they travel to conduct business, use social media pages, and connect with friends and family. But you never know who else is on the network or what they are doing. SecureLink isn't for everyone so if you don't use wi-fi hotspots, hotel networks or other connections away from your home connection, then you can stop here. But if you're looking for additional security when you travel with your laptop or use other networks, SecureLink may work for you. While some sites, such as banking sites use encryption when you are doing transactions, SecureLink is a wi-fi security product that protects all of your data by encrypting it at your laptop and away from the prying eyes of anyone on that network. You simply install the software on your computer and enable the service with MCN. All of the information you send to or from the Internet is then encrypted and sent to our Santa Rosa data center where we unencrypt it and send it to or from the Internet for you. It creates a personal VPN for you. This keeps prying eyes away from your data whether it's Facebook pages, instant messages, or what websites you are looking at.

Everyday Security Measures: Software updates, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, firewalls and general computer security.

Protect Yourself Against Email Threats: 
After Epsilon: Avoiding Phishing Scams & Malware by Brian Krebs
Stay Safe From Email Threats In The Wake Of Epsilon Email List Breach from Proofpoint