There’s more at risk than just your email…
What would be worse than a hacker having access to the contents of your email account? What if I give you a hint: “forgot my password”?
This article provides information about how much damage a hacker can cause if they get into your primary email account(s). A few moments now, reading this article and protecting your account, can save a lot of time, money, and energy later by preventing your accounts from being compromised.
More information:
3 ways to protect your email account from hackers
Wikihow.com
Signs your email may be compromised
Midpennbank.com
Use a password manager
HDF InfoLine
Quick solution: use a Password Manager. It takes a little time to setup, but your life will become much easier and your online accounts much safer!
Having a hacker gain access to an email account is dangerous. Think about all the information you have stored in your inbox and sent items folders that could compromise you and your company. That fear is valid and cause for concern, but there is an even bigger risk that you may not be thinking of: access to most, if not all, of your other online accounts.
Recall that if you forget your password for an online service, most of those services will allow you to reset it by clicking a “forgot my password” link. This sends an email to your primary email account to allow you to reset the password for the online service. That power, in the hands of a hacker, can give them access to *ALL* of your accounts! Did I get your attention now?
That leads us back to the importance for security on your primary email account.
Your primary email account should be protected even more so than your other accounts. Here are some suggestions:
Give your primary email account a unique password
All your accounts should have unique passwords. But if you’re not going to do so for all accounts, you should do so for your primary email account.
Make the password complex
Most email servers require a password to be at least 8 characters, and include a combination of upper case, lower case, and numbers. This is a minimum requirement. The longer your password, the longer it would take for it to be hacked. Think about using a password phrase, such as: “DC gets h0t in the summer!” (note the zero for the “o” in ‘hot’), or “I love 2 go 2 the beach.”
Use multifactor authentication
If your email system allows, use multifactor authentication with your smart phone.
If all of this sounds like it’s too difficult to do, think about how much more difficult it will be to try and protect *ALL* of your accounts after a hacker has gained access to them.
IMPORTANT!
Most of us have at least two primary email accounts: a personal account and a business account. If you lose access to your business email account, your system administrator can reset it and help you clean up the intrusion. If you lose access to your person email account, then you will need to contact your service (i.e. Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo).
As a client of HDF, please contact us immediately if you are unable to log into either of your email accounts, and we will do our best to help you.
If you have questions about this, please let us know and we will be happy to assist you.
Take care,
