This article will provide you some tips on how to prevent email hacking. If you were once a victim before, the tips provided below will strengthen the security of your email account(s). And to make sure they will work, follow them strictly.
Your Password Must Be Complex :
Your primary defense against email hackers is your password. If you have passwords like ‘password’, ‘princess’, ‘johndoe’, or ‘01011980’ your email accounts have very weak protection. Unfortunately, hackers can easily guess those – this is especially true if the hacker is somebody who knows you very well.
Here are some pointers on how to create a very strong and complex password:
- Length: The shorter your password, the weaker it is. Generally, passwords with eight characters or more will make your password stronger.
- Variety: Never attempt to use the same password for every account you have, whether it is an email account or any account on the internet that needs a password.
- Complexity: There are many ways to create a complex password the best ways are to:
- Include at least one number.
- Include at least one capital letter.
- If it is allowed, include at least one punctuation.
- If it is allowed, include at least one symbol.
- Weakness: At all cost, never create a password that will fall into the following categories:
- Words and abbreviations included in a dictionary, especially if it is in English.
- Words spelled backwards.
- Misspelled words commonly misspelled.
- Sequenced numbers or letters like ‘12345’ or ‘abcde’.
- Adjacent numbers or symbols on the keyboard like ‘qwerty’ or ‘!@#$%’
- Personal information:
- • Passport number
- • Driver’s license number
- • Birthday
- • Name
Updating Your Password:
To enhance your email’s security further, you will need to update its password regularly. This step might be a little tiresome, but this will ensure you that your account cannot be hacked easily. It is advisable for you to change your password every month. For added protection, always change your password after you logged in to your email using a shared computer or a computer that is used by different people.
Make Your Computer Free Of Any Malicious Software:
As of now, malicious programs that may compromise your private information stored in your computer, like your email and email client’s password, are spreading like wildfire on the worldwide web. These programs can easily infiltrate your computer without you knowing it, especially if you do not have any antivirus software installed.
If you do not have any antivirus software, you can install one now. You do not need to worry about paying anything because many reliable antivirus programs online, which you can download and install in your computer, are free of charge. However, if you already have one, it is advisable that you regularly update it. Also, you need to run a scan at least once every two weeks to make sure that no malicious activities are happening on your computer.
Eliminating Key Loggers:
Key loggers are programs that are designed to capture all of your actions in your computer. The program will store every key that you press and every click you do on your computer in a file. Meaning that once you access your email online, the file will mention that you are going to input your password, record the keys you pressed, and say when you pressed enter or click the ‘Log In’ button. When the hacker sees that part of the file, your password is good as stolen.
On the other hand, a hacker has two ways on how he can retrieve that file. The first one is through his email (most key loggers can be programmed to send the log file to an email address automatically), and the second way is to access that file in your computer.
To prevent that scenario from happening, you have two options. Since antivirus programs are not good at detecting those programs, you will need to install an anti-key logger software. Most of them are free and effective, and you easily find one by searching on a search engine. The second option that you have is to prevent any person, even if he or she is your relative, friend, or your kid, from accessing your computer.
The author Arthur Smith writes reviews for www.shoppingpreview.com/laptops. This is a website that gives insightful reviews about an array of consumer electronic products.