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Protecting E-mail Passwords

Saturday, September 4th, 2010 (2 comments)

The one thing most people completely underestimate is the value of their personal webmail accounts. You think your bank or web store is important? Well, have you ever noticed those oh-so-helpful "Forgot my password" functions? What do they do when you click that? They send you your password or they reset it at the least. Either way, if someone gets access to your e-mail account, they completely control everything you have on the Internet.

With access to someone's e-mail account, I can get to almost every other account they have online.

Besides the security risks, what about all your personal information? How many e-mails do you store online and how many years back do they go? Information about friends, family, business contacts; all things a bad guy who wants to do you harm could use.

Maybe you have a medical condition or a secret of some kind. Someone can use that for blackmail. What if they don't do anything that sinister and just impersonate you instead? If they send a virus from your account or scam your family into thinking you need money, chances are that your contacts will fall for it since it appears to have come from you.

That's why it's important to make sure that your e-mail account has one of your strongest passwords among your online accounts (if not THE strongest).

Read my passwords guide to learn what makes a good password and how to keep it safe!

E-mail Dangers

Until we find out who the people are who actually buy things from spammers and kick them off the Internet, you're going to have to learn how to deal with and prevent spam.
E-mail Viruses - Learn how viruses are spread through e-mail and how to stop them
Phishing - Spot and avoid lures that pull you into the dark side of the web
Don't be one of those people that loses thousands of dollars to the classic Nigerian Scam.

E-mail Etiquette

Use CC only when necessary and BCC the rest of the time.
Use Reply-All when you mean to and never when you don't.
Practice proper E-mail Forwarding to protect privacy and make e-mails more readable.
Always personalize your e-mails to make it obvious to your recipient that it's valid.

E-mail Tips and Tricks

Using E-Mail Aliases Properly - Be careful about using sensitive data (like your real name) in an e-mail account.
Remember to treat your e-mail account with the security it deserves.
Use a decoy e-mail account to keep your main e-mail account free of spam.
Avoid using any Internet provider's default e-mail.

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2 Comments to “Protecting E-mail Passwords”

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Frederick says:
December 25, 2010 at 7:22 pm

Wouldn’t the password reset link just be sent to the email listed?

Reply
    Jeremy says:
    January 1, 2011 at 11:41 pm

    My point is that if your main e-mail is compromised, all other accounts will send password reset information to it. Meaning that I have control of EVERYTHING you do online if I have your main e-mail. I might need to clear that up in my description above.

    Reply

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If you want to learn more about my professional background, click here to learn more.

Check out one of my guides/tutorials:

internet safety Tutorial
|INDEX|next: Online Addiction

General Safety

Avoid fake and nasty websites with my search engine trick.
Watch out for online addiction. Getting lost in fun online activities can be just as addiction as any drug.
So you want to write, publish, or share information online? Be careful. Things you say may be lost or forgotten, but things put on the Internet never are.
Don't fall for the well-known (or the new scams either) bad guys use to trick you into give away data or money.

Account Protection

Want to make an account with some online service? Read this first!
The newest, biggest risk online? Account hijacking! Don't become a victim by allowing your account to be taken over and learn to recognize when someone else has been.
Be sure transmission security is active before entering a name, password, credit card number, or other important information online.

... or check out any of my other guides and tutorials by clicking here!

Preventing Spam

Spam is annoying and worthless, but you still see it every single day. Here are some tips for preventing and reducing spam.

[Click for full description]

E-mail Viruses

Make sure that viruses don't sneak onto your computer through your e-mails. Read some simple tips to prevent that from happening.

[Click for full description]

Phishing

By far the most dangerous thing you'll find in e-mails is a lie. Sending a bogus e-mail to someone is generally called phishing, but can also be referred to as a Nigerian scam (depending on the goal of the e-mail). Learn to recognize and deal with phishing before it's too late.

[Click for full description]

Nigerian Scam

Many people have lost thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to the classic Nigerian Scam. Don't fall for it!

[Click for full description]

How to Use "CC" Properly

Don't violate people's privacy and invite spam into their accounts by CC'ing all your contacts. Learn the proper way to send mass e-mails first.

[Click for full description]

Reply-All

It's easy to embarass yourself or harm your career when you don't know how to use Reply-All appropriately.

[Click for full description]

How to Forward E-mails Properly

Don't forward e-mails carelessly or you risk looking foolish as best and violating the privacy of all your contacts at worst.

[Click for full description]

Personalize E-mail

Follow this simple rule of e-mail etiquette to help prevent your friends and family from falling for phishing scams.

[Click for full description]

Using E-Mail Aliases Properly

It can be hard to find a good name to use in an e-mail account that hasn't been used and doesn't give away too much information about you.

[Click for full description]

Protecting E-mail Passwords

Your e-mail account is the most important online account you have. Remember to treat it as such!.

[Click for full description]

Using a Decoy E-Mail Account

Why it's very important to use a buffer e-mail account to shield your main account from people and companies that you don't trust.

[Click for full description]

The ISP E-mail Trap

Don't fall for the trap of using the free e-mail account provided to you by your Internet service!

[Click for full description]

How to Avoid Bogus Websites

There are bogus websites out there hoping you'll hit them by accident or using phishing to trick you into coming to them. Learn my simple trick to avoid these sites!

[Click for full description]

Online Addiction

Concerned about online addiction? You should be. Learn the types, the signs, and the preventions.

[Click for full description]

The Consequences of Posting Online

It's fun to post online. What you think, what you feel. But words typed and posted on the Internet can come back to bite you more than anything you could say with your mouth.

[Click for full description]

Tricks and Scams

Just because you won't willing give up data doesn't mean that I can't trick you out of it. Don't fall for these well known tricks!

[Click for full description]

Account Creation Tips

When you create an account with an online site, you should know a few things first.

[Click for full description]

Account Hijacking

One of the newest threats we face is the risk of someone getting control of your online account and using it against you and the people you know. Do everything you can to prevent that from happening!

[Click for full description]

Using HTTPS For Secure Login and Payment Online

Making online accounts is useful and fun, but doesn't mean much if someone can capture your login information and use it against you. Make sure to use this simple trick to prevent that from happening.

[Click for full description]