Why is it so Important to Protect your Email
Within the last decade, and especially throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, there has been an exponential increase in the reliance of the Internet. Each year, it seems as if activities that could once be done in-person are now done through an app. If you want to communicate with your friends, just reach out through texts or social media. If you want to keep up with the news, just download an app. In short, if you want to do something – there’s probably an app for it.
But what lies at the heart of all this? How is it all so accessible, and what keeps them connected to one another? The source of all these separate, yet elaborately intertwined pieces of software is actually something you probably use on a daily basis: your email.
Is this a real threat?
Think of your email as a castle. While a castle would have weaponry inside, your email has access to all your accounts, whether be they for social media or for banking. If someone is in your email, they have access to all this information. A castle and your email also share a similar, yet enormous vulnerability: they are completely ineffective at keeping people out if the drawbridge is lowered.
There is a plethora of ways that your email’s metaphorical drawbridge could be let down, each of which greatly increase the risk of it being compromised by a hacker:
- Having a weak password (e.g., Password123)
- Not using extra security measure (such as Two-Factor Authentication)
- Oversharing information online
If you still believe your email is either not that valuable or unlikely to be targeted by malicious actors, PurpleSec reported that cybercrime, specifically phishing email schemes, has risen 600% due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Types of Email Attacks
One of the best things you can do to prevent yourself from being a victim of a cyberattack is to have an idea as to what to avoid. Often, cybercriminals heavily rely on deception. In most cases, they trick their target into doing something specific, such as opening an email attachment or clicking a link, that would enable malware to enter your device. Such attacks can come in the form of:
Another way that these brutes con people is by persuading them to give up private information that could then be used against them. This is referred to as Social Engineering.
How to Protect Your Email
While protecting your email may sound like a daunting task, it actually isn’t. In fact, it only takes a few steps and minimal effort. In order to keep your email safe, you should:
- Use a strong, hard-to-guess password
- Avoid opening any suspicious email attachments
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication on all accounts
- Avoid clicking any suspicious links
- Delete old posts to avoid oversharing
Among this list, deleting your old posts is one of the easiest to accomplish. This can be done through Redact within mere minutes, as it can delete tens of thousands of messages across a variety of platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Redact is especially useful if you want to clean up your email inbox! You can get rid of suspicious emails without risking your security. On top of all that, Redact is entirely free for personal use!
Avoid being swallowed by the void. Let Redact help secure you a safer future in the digital world. You can download Redact across multiple platforms (Windows, MacOS, and Linux) at redact.dev/download today!