Essential Email Safety Guidelines Every User Should Follow
In the digital age, email security has become more crucial than ever. Here are some essential tips to help you protect your email accounts and personal information.
Firstly, it is advisable to regularly review your recovery phone number and backup email. These details are vital in case you need to regain access to your account if you ever lose access.
Major organizations, such as Microsoft, are increasingly implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) for their email systems. Starting from 2024-2025, Microsoft will mandate multi-factor authentication (MFA) for the Azure portal and Microsoft 365 administration. This move is aimed at enhancing the protection of email-related accounts. Similarly, Austria's FinanzOnline will enforce 2FA for accessing tax-related online services starting October 2025, including email login processes. Many IT security frameworks recommend MFA broadly for email account security.
Using a password manager can be beneficial in managing complex passwords for multiple accounts. With a password manager, you only need to remember one main password to unlock the manager. It is also recommended to use a different password for every single account due to the difficulty of remembering them.
Unfortunately, hackers can access personal information such as purchase receipts, messages from employers, and photos stored in email accounts. To avoid falling victim to such attacks, it is essential to implement email security measures one at a time.
Phishing emails are a common threat. These emails often pretend to be from banks, Amazon, or employers, asking users to click a link or share their password. Urgent messages that demand immediate action, weird grammar or spelling mistakes, and email addresses that don't look quite right are warning signs of phishing attempts.
If hacked, change your password immediately, turn on two-factor authentication, and check your sent folder for suspicious emails. Hackers often create forwarding rules to keep getting copies of emails even after a password change.
Email security settings, devices, and apps connected to the account should be regularly checked. A strong password should be long (minimum 15 characters), include a mix of big letters, small letters, numbers, symbols, and be random. Encryption is necessary for sensitive information like medical, financial, and legal data. Most email services offer encryption options.
Hackers use advanced tools to create fake emails that look incredibly real, making it difficult for users to distinguish them from legitimate emails. Once hackers gain access to an email account, they can reset passwords for other accounts connected to that email address, including banking, social security, and shopping sites. Invoice attachments might contain malware, not just regular files.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to prove their identity after entering their password, typically through a code sent to their phone or an approval notification. This feature is offered by major email services such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.
Remember, real companies do not threaten to close accounts or ask for passwords via email. If you encounter such a situation, it is likely a phishing attempt.
By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of email hacking and protect your personal information. Stay vigilant and secure!
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