Tip of the Month: Using Email While Prioritizing Safety and Security

Tip of the Month: Using Email While Prioritizing Safety and Security

You probably use your email every day without even thinking about it. Email is, however, one of the main places hackers go when they want to steal personal information. Here are three easy steps you can take to keep your email secure.

Use Strong, Unique Passwords

A strong password is like a firm lock on your front door: it should be tough to crack. Here’s how to make one:

  • Mix it up -Use a combination of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols.
  • Be unique – Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. If a hacker gets one password, they can get into everything.
  • Don’t use obvious info – Avoid using your name, birthday, or anything easily guessed. For the most secure password, try a random phrase that incorporates the above tips. 

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication (or 2FA) is like adding an extra lock to your door. When you turn on 2FA, you’ll need a code (often sent to your phone) each time you log in, along with your password. Even if someone gets your password, they can’t get in without that code. Here’s how to set it up:

  • Go to your email settings.
  • Look for security settings, and find two-factor authentication (sometimes called multi-factor authentication or verification)
  • Follow the steps, and you’ll be much safer from hackers.

Be Careful with Links and Attachments

Cybercriminals often use emails to try and trick you. If you get an email with a weird link or an unexpected attachment, that’s a red flag. Signs it could be fake include:

  • It’s from an unknown sender.
  • The email says urgent action is needed, like “reset your password now” or “claim your prize!”
  • There are spelling errors, strange phrases, or it just seems off.

If you’re unsure, don’t click on anything. Instead, try checking directly with the person or company who supposedly sent it, or just delete the email if it looks fishy. If you can’t verify the authenticity of the email, you should move on and report it to your IT administrator.

Email is an important part of doing business, and these three tips will help you keep your account and your organization’s data secure. For more great tips and tricks, check out our blog.

White Mountain IT

Related Posts

Why MFA is the Most Important Security Step You'll Take This Year

While still critical to get right, passwords aren’t nearly as secure as you would expect them to be. They can be guessed (especially if proper password practices haven’t been followed), stolen in data breaches, or phished from a well-meaning—albeit shortsighted—employee. Passwords are basically the lock built into the front door of a building. They’re enough to keep out honest people, but what ab...

Important Steps For Improving Customer Satisfaction

The modern customer is more educated than ever before. As a result, you have to have an active strategy to build great customer experiences so you can retain business with them. In this month’s newsletter, we’ll go over some things you can do to improve your customer relationships.  Understand Your Customers The foundation of satisfying your customers lies in understanding their needs, pr...

Tip of the Week: Three Steps to Policing Your IT Policies

Small businesses are presented with the challenging prospect of monitoring and policing various IT-related policies that you might have for your network infrastructure and workplace technology use. The difficulty of this notion does little to lessen its importance, however. You need to take action to protect your assets, data, and reputation from the countless threats out there, and ensuring that ...

The Cybercrime Economy

Remember the stereotypical hacker? A lone kid in a hoodie, fueled by caffeine and curiosity, breaking into a system just for the thrill or bragging rights? That image is obsolete. Today, hacking has evolved from a counter-cultural movement into a sophisticated, multi-trillion-dollar global industry. The staggering cost of cybercrime is predicted to reach $10.5 trillion annually by the end of th...