Email accounts are very essential nowadays as they contain personal emails from friends, from bank or any other important email. Email account security is also much more important because they connect you with other social networking sites so if your email gets hacked then eventually your other social media accounts may get hacked as well. If you don’t want to be in that situation then this article on how to secure email account may help you a lot. We will teach you about having a strong email security.
Use Strong Password
A weak password is an invitation for hackers to attack your email account. Users do not pay much attention while generating a password.
Having a strong password is the initial step towards securing your email account. Don’t rely on the suggestion saying the weak or strong password. Avoid having passwords similar to the username or someone you admire a lot because hackers may laugh on such passwords and poor email security.
Use upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters in creating a password. Eight characters with the mixture of upper and lower case letters contain 30,000+ combinations and this makes it difficult for hackers to bypass the security of an email account.
Avoid using Public WiFi or PCs
In this era of digitalization, it is hard to stay back from using a public WiFi connection. Users are unable to resist when their device is connected to a WiFi network which is installed in a cafe, supermarket or any public place. It means by connecting to an open network, you are inviting the hackers to enter in your email account.
Streaming YouTube videos or browsing the internet for the purpose of collecting the information is fine, but if your email account is signed in and is having financial details then it can damage you a lot. It is impossible to identify which public WiFi is secured or not that’s why security professionals advise internet users not to sign in your email account or make a financial transaction on it.
Don’t access your email account on public PC’s and if you are using it then don’t forget to log out your Email account. Still, you are leaving traces for the next user to whom the information you left is enough to get access. So, try not to access your email account on a public WiFi network or public PCs.
Secure Your Email Address
If you are calling your email address by mentioning it in the comments or in blog posts then you need to stop doing this. Hackers are active on the internet and take quick notice of these activities. Also, don’t share your email to those you don’t know.
Initiate SMS Alerts
For this, you simply need to visit your account settings and add your phone number there to receive SMS alerts. By doing this, you will receive an SMS alert whenever you reset your password. Google will send you a password reset code. And in case someone is trying to reset your password then you may receive an alert SMS. Now, Yahoo and Google already ask to insert your phone number.
Don’t Leave Your Windows Desktop Open
Beware of the sneaky co-workers around you. If you are leaving the desk for any reason, lock your windows by pressing the “Windows” and “L” key in order to lock your windows desktop directly.
If you would not do this then your sneaky co-worker will get access to your email account and can also reset your password.
Encrypt your messages
To make sure that your emails are safe, you need to encrypt the messages. Encrypting the emails make them unreadable for anyone except the recipient. There are two common services that offer message encryption, Open PGP and Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME). These services require to both you and your contacts to download security certificates on your systems and exchange public keys.
Beware Of Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks can cause you a massive loss. The initial step of successful online scams happens through an email. These scams are performed with the help of social engineering techniques that are able to trick the most experienced internet users.
Usually, the phishing attackers impersonate the people you trust so that you share your data easily. The attack may be performed to steal your financial information. The only way to remain safe from a phishing attack is to delete the email at the initial stage. You can also keep your account protected by not clicking suspicious links in emails and not replying the email if it has been sent by an unknown source also doesn’t download the attachments if you are not completely sure about it.
Extra layer security
Having a strong password is not enough; you need another layer of security which will enhance the protection of your email account that is two-factor authentication. This is a different kind of security layer that is becoming popular among all social networking sites.
It’s a type of security which sends you a code on your phone every time you try to log in to your email account. This feature protects your email account from unauthorized access. This security is in use of banks for secure internet banking. Today almost all email services and social sites offer two-factor authentication for the improvement of account security.
Conclusion
Email security is extremely important to protect your information phishing email scams and cyber attacks. You can secure your email account by applying the above measures. If not, then be ready to wake up someday to know that your account has been hacked.