PRO Email Security Tips Every User Should Follow in 2021 — Decoding
The Year of 2020 changed everything due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It has changed the way we work, roam around the city, hygiene habits, and many more. “Work from home” became a new standard worldwide, so cybersecurity became an essential part of everyone’s life. Email security is one of them that lead many to lose personal information to financial assets. And so, it is recommended to follow these PRO Email Security Tips to protect your data from the dark web world.
Some common problems came into the notice from “work from home” life about email security. Many had a corporate structure that was securing office premises in a better way, but sometimes it’s impossible to maintain the same level of protection for people working from home. But every organisation should train their employees and make them aware of online securities and cyber threats.
Here are some recommendations for every user that protects them from being a victim of cyber frauds. These Pro Tips don’t just help corporate users those using business email services like Office 365 and G-Suite. But it can help users who are using free email services like Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail and many others.
PRO Email Security Tips:
- Use Strong, Long and Unique Password
- Change Your Password Periodically
- Don’t Use the Same Password for Multiple Accounts
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication
- Never Open Any Attachments without Scanning with (Professional) Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware
- Don’t Click on Any Links without identifying (Genuine or Spam Links)
- Double Check the Sender Email and Domain Name
- Do Not Post Your Personal Information on Public Forums, Blogs or Social Media
- Don’t Share Personal Information via Email or Reply to Spam Emails
- Don’t Use Public Wi-Fi
- Logout and/or Lock Your Device
- Always Backup Your Data
Tips 1: Use Strong and Unique Password (Must for Email Security)
Using a strong, long and unique password is the key to securing email or any online account. If you are using a week or common password, it most probably has been compromised in the past. That might also be available on Brute-force dictionary list, so there’s a higher chance of getting hacked. To avoid such a situation, please use a strong, long and unique password. You can use an online password generator tool to create a multi-characters unique password with symbols and numbers. Such a password is hard to guess and crack for hackers.
We know that it’s not easy to remember such a long and unique password, but you can use a password manager like “” or “” to securely store your passwords. You can even store your passwords Chrome Browser, but it’s a risk of losing data if you delete or uninstall it. So, storing the password on cloud password managers is the safe way, and it will always be available when you need it.
Tips 2: Change Your Password Periodically
Changing your password often can improve the security for any services. For example, if you gave your email password to your IT Company to check some issues or setting for your email, the team member can access your email even if they no longer work for the same company in the future. So it is recommended to change the password periodically to secure your email service from fraudulent use. It just takes a few seconds of your time to change the password regularly but gives you complete peace of mind.
Tips 3: Don’t Use the Same Password for Multiple Accounts
It is a nightmare to remember the multiple passwords for everyone, but it does create a huge security risk. For example, if you have the same password for multiple social media and email accounts, and if one account gets compromised, it opens all doors for the hacker. The hacker can use the same password and might be username on multiple profiles as Brute-force attack and can take over on your various accounts
.
In the past, we saw that many people victimised by hackers with taking over on their Facebook and Instagram accounts due to the same email address and password used for both social media profiles. So best to keep a strong and unique individual password for every account.
Again, you can use the services like “” or “” to store your passwords. These services are offering top-notch encryption and other security layers to protect it from hackers.
Tips 4: Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) assuring the right people have got access to the online account. 2FA is commonly used nowadays by many industries like banking, social media platforms and other online services. Sometimes, the service provider has their own way for two-factor authentication such as SMS/OTP, Email Verification Links, Physical Key and some more. But all these methods aim to protect the client’s account and provide them as secure service as they can.
Enabling 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) uses any two verification methods to access the related email account. Once you get verified with both ways, you can enter to the email client and send or receive emails. Nowadays, cloud email service providers like Microsoft and Google, forcing people to use 2FA for a good reason. It’s a sure-fire way of email or any online accounts security. Make sure you don’t handover your OTP or Email Verification Link access to anyone.
Tips 5: Never Open Any Attachments without Scanning with Professional Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware (Must for Email Security)
If you receive any emails from unknown sources and attachments with cheesy or threat words, do not open it. Hackers sometimes try to generate matters of urgency like warrant, summons, court order and similar terms that make you panic. But don’t fall in that trap, be calm, think thrice and take appropriate action. Never rush to open any attachments in your email as it could lead to data theft and Ransomware.
Check if the email is authentic, scan attachment with Professional Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware before opening it even if it’s from the genuine sender. Many Professional Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware software available in the market like , Trend Micro, Malwarebytes and some other. Some of these even protect you from Ransomware which is big plus nowadays.
You can use free Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware, but paid software companies regularly update their database, which helps to protect your data from newly created viruses. So it is recommended to use a paid version of Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware software of your choice.
Read Full Post at decoding.com.au
You may also like:
Originally published at https://decoding.com.au on February 6, 2021.
