Posted On 16 Sep 2021
Think your email is protected against hacking? You’re wrong.
Many email accounts lack the security protocols required to protect against unauthorized access, theft, and malware attacks. Fortunately, you can take positive action to protect your account. Here are five top tips for protecting your email account.
Set up different email accounts for personal and business purposes
Most people use one single email for all purposes, meaning that shopping deals, messages, newsletters, and invoices all get sent to the same place. This can be a massive problem if someone gets unauthorized access to your inbox. Set up at least two email accounts to separate business from pleasure. In addition to increasing your security, it may also enhance your productivity.
Use strong passwords
Far too many people underestimate the importance of using strong passwords on their email accounts. Ensure you use a long password that contains numbers, a combination of upper- and lowercase letters, and special characters. You may want to go one step further by putting in place multifactor authentication (MFA). This helps provide an extra level of security by requiring a second validation process; for example, a fingerprint scan.
Be on the lookout for spam emails
If you receive an email from an unrecognized source that contains a link, do not click on the link until you have verified that it is authentic. Sometimes, emails of this nature are safe. However, there is also a risk that they may contain malware that infects your computer. Attacks of this nature are known as phishing and the emails involved often come from hackers posing as notable companies such as Amazon, the Bank of America, or FedEx.
Keep an eye on your account activity
Periodically monitor your account activity and limit the access privileges you allocate to apps. Screen your logs for suspicious activity on a regular basis to make sure no unauthorized IP addresses or devices have accessed your accounts. If you do spot anything that looks suspect, log out of all your web sessions immediately and change your passwords.
Use email encryption
If you encrypt emails that can not be intercepted mid-route and viewed by unauthorized parties. In addition, ensure you install the latest updates for your firewalls, anti-malware, and email security software to find and fix any vulnerabilities before the hackers do.
