It’s really important to have a strong password for your email because it holds a lot of information about you. If someone with bad intentions gains access to your email, they could use your personal information to trick you or even harm others. To protect yourself, make sure to use a unique password for your email that you haven’t used anywhere else.
Your email account is like a doorway to your other online accounts. If a criminal manages to get into your email, they can use the “forgot password” feature to request emails that give them access to your other accounts, like your social media profiles. So, it’s crucial to keep your email secure to prevent any unauthorized access to your other important accounts.
How to secure your email account
Password
To create strong and secure passwords, try combining three random words. Make sure to avoid using easily guessable words such as your pet’s name or birth month. To enhance the strength of your password, consider adding numbers and symbols. This will make it even more difficult for others to guess or crack your password.
Turn on 2-Step Verification (2SV) for your email
2-Step Verification (2SV) also known as 2-Factor Authentication (2FA), provides an extra layer of security to keep your email safe. Even if someone manages to get hold of your password, they won’t be able to access your account. How does it work? Well, when you sign in on a new device or make important changes like updating your password, 2SV will ask for additional information to verify your identity. This could be a code sent to your phone. Don’t worry, though, you won’t have to go through this process every time you want to check your email. It’s a simple way to add an extra level of protection to your account.
Check to see if your accounts have been compromised.
You can utilize services like www.haveibeenpwned.com to determine whether your personal information or any of your account passwords have been exposed in a significant data breach.
Further information
If you have been affected by a data breach, you can find some useful information here https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/data-breaches from the National Cyber Security Centre on how to protect yourself from the impact of data breaches.
For more advice on how to stay secure online, please visit www.cyberaware.gov.uk
How to turn on 2-Step Verification
- For Outlook – https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-use-two-step-verification-with-your-microsoft-account-c7910146-672f-01e9-50a0-93b4585e7eb4
- For Gmail – https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification/enroll-welcome?pli=1
- For iCloud – https://support.apple.com/en-il/HT204915