Whether you use it for work or simply to keep in contact with your family abroad, no one can deny that email has had a huge impact on how we communicate in the 21st century. Email has given us the ability to communicate with anyone around the world, no matter the time of day or language.
While emailing has certainly opened up many doors for us, it’s also given hackers another way of gaining access to our systems and stealing our personal and financial information relatively easily.
To protect yourself and your business from harmful email cyber attacks, there are a few things that you should consider. Keep reading to find out how you can protect yourself from cyber attacks on your email.
Don’t Open Attachments In An Email Unless You Recognize The Sender
One of the best ways to arm yourself against harmful email attachments is always to assume that an email is harmful.
If you don’t recognize a sender, you should never open attachments and downloadable content from an email. Sometimes, hackers can hide behind your contact’s emails and send phishing scams to your email address. This is a well-known tactic that many fall for every day!
Never open an attachment that you didn’t ask for from a friend or contact. In all likelihood, this could be a hacker that’s trying to gain access to your system to steal your data! Hackers do this by hacking your friend’s email accounts and sending false messages to do the same thing to you.
Create A Strong Password And Strong Answers For Your Security Questions
While it might seem simpler to have one password for each account so you can remember everything with ease, you should always create a strong, unique password for every account and create strong answers for your security questions if applicable.
Try to use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, special symbols and numbers. This gives the hacker fewer chances to crack your password.
Try to choose a question and answer that only you would know also. This will stop hackers from getting into your account and changing your password.
Make Sure Your Antivirus Software Is Up To Date
Updating your antivirus software is the best way to protect yourself against evolving cyber threats that could target your email. The best way to ensure that you never miss an update is to set an auto-install on your device to ensure you never forget to update your system.
Alternatively, you can set a reminder or sign up for alerts that notify you when an update is available.
Don’t Click Any Links Or Buttons That Come With An Email
Similar to attachments, hackers will sometimes send emails from an unknown or known address with links to websites. While these might seem harmless, they might contain links to harmful websites designed to gain control or spy on your device, allowing them to steal sensitive information.
You should never interact with any links or buttons that come with an email, and you should follow up with a contact to find out whether they meant to send this email if it’s from a contact that you recognize.
Don’t Share Your Email Password/Security Answers With Anyone
One of the most effective ways to protect yourself from hackers is to never give out your email password to both close contacts or strangers. This gives hackers ample room to hack into your account and lock you out by changing your password.
The same goes for your security answers. You should never tell anyone your secret answers so that you can prevent hackers from being able to access your account settings, which means they can steal all your sensitive information.
Be On The Lookout For Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are common fraudulent messages that fool users into sharing their personal information. Typically, hackers do this to steal your passwords, account information or identity, costing you a significant amount of money and inflicting a lot of stress.
Never interact with emails that ask you for personal information and beware of false messages about your account being compromised and requiring your bank details to resolve this. These are almost certainly phishing scams.
Call Tech Masters Inc. Today If You Are In Need Of Commercial IT Services In Edmonton Or Calgary!
Looking for an IT company in Edmonton and worried about your email security? Contact Tech Masters Inc. today! We offer end-to-end services with 24/7 monitoring of your cyber security to ensure your email stays safe from cybercrime.
Our services include constant log monitoring, so you won’t have to worry about whether or not you will be hacked. We’re willing to supply exemplary IT customer service to any company wanting to transform its security practices. Contact us today to find out how we can help you!