1. Change your password/s regularly. Hackers are clever and use sophisticated programs to figure out your password. Given enough time, they’ll probably get yours.
2. Don’t reuse your passwords. Each time you change your password make the new password unique. This goes for all your accounts and passwords. And, no two accounts should have the same password. Creating unique passwords can become a chore, so if you need, there are free password generating tools available. You can try one that PC Tools offers: http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/
3. Make sure you have security questions in place and make sure the answers aren’t obvious. If your question is “Who’s faster than a speeding bullet?” Chances are at least one hacker will guess Superman. Or if your question is “Who is Bugs Bunny’s nemesis?” Someone is bound to guess Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam.
4. Make your password at least 10 characters and mix them up – use capital and lower case letters with numbers and symbols. It’s also a good idea to avoid sequences, such as 12345, abcde, 222555222. Make it difficult to hack.
5. Always sign out of your email account when you’re done. Yahoo and Gmail, and most likely all other email providers, allow you to stay logged into your account even after you’re done and left the site. While this is convenient in that you don’t have to log in the next time you want to check your email, it’s not a safe thing to do, so log out when you’re done.
6. See if your email service provider offers a login activity feature. Yahoo and Gmail do. This tool provides recent login activity which allows you to see who has logged into your account. If it’s not you or someone who has login privileges then you need to take immediate action. You need to create a new password.
7. Take care with your mobile device also. It’s a good idea to use a password on your device and it’s also a good idea to lock it.
8. Bulletproof your computer with antivirus software. Okay, this may not make it bullet proof, but it will sure help.
9. Don’t open suspicious emails, especially ones that request personal information or ask you to change a password.
10. Keep your passwords safe.
While these ten tips will help you keep your email account safe, you should use them (the ones applicable) on all your accounts, including your websites. The more difficult you make it for hackers the safer you’ll be.
10 Safety Tips to Protect Your Email Account