A simple checklist for protecting your email account and communications

Protecting your email account should be your topmost priority, regardless of whether you use it for personal or business communications.

Personal online safety should never be taken for granted, as some fundamental security measures can help you protect your digital privacy while negating the risks during cyberattacks.

As mentioned, email is the first thing individuals must consider while taking the necessary precautions. The chances are that you receive much confidential information through it, such as details regarding your bank accounts, doctor appointments, or password resets. Thus, putting the strongest defenses against attacks is critical.

Unique and strong passwords

You cannot underestimate the importance of passwords. They are critical for serving as the first line of defense against account takeovers. For instance, brute-force attacks are capable of breaking weak passwords. These include combinations of common passwords, like 123456, or those relating to your life, like your birth date.

As far as the uniqueness of a password is concerned, you must always use a distinct password for each online account, including emails. For example, you must use a different password for your business email and personal email accounts. 

If you’re not good at remembering passwords, you can always use a password manager that can store all your passwords in one place in an encrypted form. Remember, your email account password can be the only defense that hackers must break to access your private communications and data. 

Activate two-factor authentication

It’s imperative to add extra layers of security to your email accounts, and nothing could be better than activating two-factor authentication. While logging into your email account, you will need to provide another authentication code sent to your mobile phone or device before you can access your emails.

All major email service providers like Gmail offer two-factor authentication, so you simply need to enable it before using it. If your email service provider doesn’t offer this feature, you need to switch over to the ones that provide 2F authentication immediately.

Encrypting your messages using a secure email service

There’re several certain email providers like Tutanota that offer encryption features. If you use the email services of these providers, all your emails will be encrypted to secure them against any unauthorized access.

Snooping on your correspondence is impossible as secure email services allow users to create a range of disposable aliases to protect their privacy. Moreover, they limit the number of entities accessing the primary address. All the free accounts with these secure email service providers offer basic features.

Detect and report phishing emails

If you receive a suspicious, do not rush to delete it. Of course, the first instinct is to get rid of it as soon as possible. However, you should understand that phishing is a big-picture problem. All users need to participate in attempts to prevent further distribution of such scams. Thus, the best course of action is to flag that email message as spam. Then, you can remove it and forget about it.

Install a Virtual Private Network

Most email providers can secure your email messages against snooping. However, many services can lack the necessary protection measures. For that reason, your conversations do not happen in the most secure environment possible. Therefore, deciding to download VPN applications and connecting to secure servers can protect your data exchanges. A Virtual Private Network encrypts internet traffic and masks your IP address. Hiding your IP address also lets users reveal less information via email metadata.

Of course, if you use older or less modern email service providers, experts suggest switching to more sophisticated services.

Create multiple email accounts

A person should operate multiple email accounts. One inbox should receive all the confidential information, like bank notices or password resets. You can use the other email address for things like receiving marketing letters from companies.

Such division helps separate your affairs and protect highly personal detais from being targeted.

Conclusion

Take the appropriate measures to protect your email account with records of all your essential communication and correspondence. Follow all the above steps that ensure only you have access to your account and no one else ever gets to snoop on your messages.

Of course, email account protection is only the first step to leading a secure digital life. Consider all the programs you use, especially your browser, and how they affect your security. Millions of users choose to use privacy and security-focused alternatives. They usually give more control to users, like blocking common trackers or gathering the only necessary information.