Vilnius, Lithuania, November 10, 2023 – Email is one of the most commonly used forms of communication, both in personal and professional settings. The Email Statistics Report, 2022-2026, predicts total email users to climb to 4.37 billion in 2023 and to 4.73 billion by 2026. While email is a convenient way to stay in touch, it’s also important to be aware of the potential security risks that come with using this platform.
Hackers can gain access to email accounts and use them to send spam or phishing emails, infect recipients with malware, or even launch attacks on other online accounts. That’s why both individuals and businesses must implement strong email security measures.
In this blog post, we’ll share some of the best email security practices that every user should know. By following these tips, you can help protect your account and the accounts of those you correspond with from being compromised.
1. Create Strong Passwords
Avoid using easily guessed words or phrases like your birthday, your pet’s name, or your mother’s maiden name. Instead, opt for a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters that will be difficult for hackers to crack.
You should also change your passwords regularly, especially if you suspect they may have been compromised. Most users have an average ratio of 1.86 email accounts. Never reuse passwords across different accounts. If one account is hacked, all of your other accounts are vulnerable as well.
2. Provide Employee Training
If you run a business, it’s important to train your employees on email security best practices. This includes teaching them how to spot phishing emails and what to do if they receive one. Employees should also know not to open attachments from unknown senders or click on links from untrustworthy websites.
Did you know that 94% of phishing attacks are hidden in emails? These are emails that look like they’re from a legitimate source, but they contain malicious links or attachments. If you receive an email that looks suspicious, don’t click on any links or download any attachments until you verify that the email is legitimate.
3. Verify Links Before You Click on Them
Even if an email looks legitimate, it’s still important to check the links before you click on them. Cybercriminals can use redirects to send you to malicious websites, even if the original link looks safe. To check a link before you click on it, hover over the link with your mouse and look at the URL that appears in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen. If the URL looks suspicious, avoid clicking on it.
4. Setup Proxies
A proxy server acts as a middleman between your computer and the internet, routing your web traffic through an encrypted tunnel. This makes it more difficult for hackers to snoop on your online activity or intercept your data as it’s being transmitted. If you’re concerned about the security of your email communications, consider using a proxy server when connecting to the internet.
5. Use a Gateway Email Content Filter
Another great way to protect your system from unsolicited emails is to deploy a gateway email content filter. These filters can block emails based on several criteria, such as suspicious keywords or known malicious IP addresses. Gateway filters can also quarantine emails so that they can be checked by an administrator before they’re delivered to users.
6. Employ Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of protection to your account by requiring you to enter both a password and a one-time code when logging in. The code can be generated by an app on your smartphone or sent via text message to your mobile device. Because 2FA requires two pieces of information instead of just one, it’s much more difficult for hackers to gain access to an account that has 2FA enabled.
7. Ensure Encryption of Connections
When sending sensitive information via email, it’s important to keep your connections encrypted. You can do this by enabling SSL/TLS encryption for outgoing messages in your email client’s settings menu. This will help prevent third parties from being able to read the contents of your messages as they’re being transmitted across the internet.
8. Ensure Scheduled Backups
One of the most important things you can do to protect your email is to back up your files regularly. That way, if you ever do get hacked or experience a data loss, you’ll have a recent copy of all your important files. Backing up your files can be as simple as setting up automatic backups to an external hard drive or cloud storage service. Ensuring you have robust cloud security is key.
9. Ensure the Latest Update of Software and Antivirus
Another important email security practice is to ensure the latest updates of your software and antivirus programs. Cybercriminals are always on the look-out for new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in software, so it’s important to make sure you have the latest security patches installed. You should also run regular scans with your antivirus program to ensure that your system is free of malware.
10. Avoid Public Wi-Fi
networks are generally unencrypted, making them extremely vulnerable to malicious hackers. If it is necessary to use public Wi-Fi, make sure that you are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This will encrypt data sent over the network and provide an additional layer of security for your email account.
11. Log Out
Logging out of your email when not in use is an essential security practice that many people overlook. When users stay logged in to their emails, they are inviting unauthorized access from other parties who could potentially gain access to sensitive data.
In an age where our emails contain almost all of our sensitive personal and business information, it is important to understand the best practices for keeping your emails secure. Monitoring your habits also plays a vital role in ensuring email security. By subscribing to fewer newsletters and limiting the amount of time you spend on external email threads, you can reduce the amount of clutter in your inbox and the chances of accidentally clicking on a malicious link.
These days, cybercriminals are constantly coming up with new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in our online systems. That’s why it’s so important to stay up-to-date on the latest threats and how to protect yourself against them. Whether a user is casually browsing the internet or managing sensitive data, these steps will help keep their email safe and secure.
Contact Details:
Name: Gabija
Company: Cybernews
Email: gabija.dirstye@cybernews.com
Website: cybernews.com
Address: Vokiečių g. 26, LT-01130, Vilnius, Lithuania
