E-Mail Security

Today many people have taken e-mail security for granted. We believe our world has become so high tech that e-mail security measures are in place and we do not personally need to manage our own e-mail security. Not true. Let's look at some forgotten basics.

Use a strong password and change it often. A strong password is defined as one with a minimum of 8 characters of mixed letters and numbers, with little or no meaning. Creating a strong password is the first step to managing e-mail security. Change it monthly or at least every 45 days.

Have more than one e-mail account. This is an important step to maintaining e-mail security. Three e-mail accounts is the minimum. 1. A business only account. Often this is provided by your employer and has many security measures in place. Do not send personal e-mails from this account. 2. A personal account. This is the account you will use for friends, family and casual communication. 3. A dummy account. This account is very important to e-mail security. This is the account you use when you are required to give account information to register for blogs, news letters, contests etc.

Beware of phishing and fraudulent e-mails to maintain e-mail security. If it seems to good to be true, its fraud. Phishing is when the sender of an e-mail tries to trick you into giving out financial information and passwords. These e-mails appear to be from a genuine provider and declare they need you to verify information. Call the institution and ask if they sent the e-mail. Also call the police, who are always looking for help to maintain e-mail security.

These are basic elements of e-mail security, but they are often forgotten as we become more and more comfortable in the cyber-world.