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Home » Blog » Cybersecurity month | How can I secure my e-mail?

Cybersecurity month | How can I secure my e-mail?

Quickly pass on a message to a colleague, forward holiday photos to friends and family, or view the track & trace code of your long-awaited package. These are all reasons why we use our e-mail every day. It is common for people not to secure their e-mail. In this article, we will tell you the importance of a secure e-mail, and what you can do about it.

Why do I need a secure email?

Cybercriminals are using increasingly creative ways to defraud you or those around you. Likewise with your e-mail.
You may receive an email that looks like a legitimate email but comes from a Cybercriminal. In this email, you will probably be asked to open a link or an attachment. There is a good chance that your laptop, phone, or tablet will be infected with viruses or malware as soon as you open the link or attachment. Malware is malicious software that gets installed on your device.

Cybercriminals install these viruses or malware on your device to get their hands on your personal information, login details, or banking details.
In addition, cybercriminals can send malicious emails to your contacts through your email. The recipients of the email will most likely trust the link or attachment in the email because the email comes from a trusted person. By the time you realize you’ve been a victim of a scam, many more victims have fallen through your email address.

Even after sending an e-mail, the e-mail is at risk. As soon as you click on the ‘send’ button, the e-mail will first pass through your internet service provider (ISP), also known as your internet provider. The terminal of the e-mail is the internet service provider of the recipient of the e-mail. During the journey of the e-mail, the e-mail passes through various points where the e-mail can be tapped by criminals.

For these reasons, it is important to use a secure e-mail. This way you limit the chance that you, and the people around you, become a victim of cybercriminals.

Why do I need a secure e-mail?

Do you want a secure e-mail? We are happy to help you with that! By following the tips you can use your e-mail more safely.? We are happy to help you with that! By following the tips below you can use your e-mail a lot more safely.

Use a strong password
First of all, you can realize a secure e-mail by using a strong password. The five most common passwords from the year 2021 are 123456, 123456789, 12345, qwerty, and password (The Conversation). It is noticeable that many people opt for a series of numbers in chronological order or the first five letters on the keyboard.

It might be easy to be able to swipe your finger across the keyboard in a zipper and stop after you’ve keyed in the last number or letter of your combination, but easy doesn’t always mean safe.

It may just be that by choosing one of the above passwords, you have the same password as your sibling, a close friend, or even the neighbors across the street. This makes it very easy for cyber criminals to crack passwords. They know which passwords are commonly used, and often try these first to log in to your account.

To make it difficult for cyber criminals to crack your login details, it is wise to create a strong password. A strong password consists of many characters. For example, you can even create a passphrase. In addition, it is important to include numbers, capital letters, and special characters in the password. It is also necessary not to process personal data in the e-mail. For example, if your name is Alex, and you were born in 1999, do not create a password as ‘Alex1999’. When cybercriminals know your name and date of birth, there is a good chance that they will try combinations like this one.

Set up multi-factor authentication
You have probably come across a website where, in addition to entering your regular login details, you also have to enter a code that you receive via your e-mail or text message. An extra step is then added to the login process. We call this process multi-factor authentication.

When you use multi-factor authentication, it becomes a lot more difficult for cybercriminals to log in with your username and password. The criminals can’t do anything without the code you received. In addition, you are immediately aware that someone is trying to log in to your account so that you can immediately change your password.

Avoid public WiFi networks
At the airport, on the train, or in your favorite restaurant, public WiFi is everywhere. While it is tempting to use these WiFi networks, it is not a secure option. It is very easy for cybercriminals to break into your systems via these public WiFi networks, including your e-mail.

Do you still want to use a public WiFi network? Then use a VPN. When you use a VPN, a secure tunnel is created between you and the internet. All data that you then send via the internet is encrypted using this secure tunnel. As a result, cybercriminals can no longer monitor your internet traffic, and therefore also not your e-mail.

Use a spam filter
You can also protect your e-mail with a spam filter. Spam, short for “Sending People Annoying Messages,” is the name given to unsolicited emails you receive. To prevent these e-mails from ending up in your regular mailbox, you can use a spam filter. This filter distinguishes all spam e-mails from regular e-mails and places them in a separate mailbox.

The spam filter not only ensures that you no longer have to scroll through your mailbox for hours to distinguish the important mail from all the junk. By using a spam filter you are also better protected against cyber criminals. There is a good chance that e-mails from cyber criminals are considered spam by the spam filter so these e-mails never end up in your regular mailbox. This way, the chance is much less that you accidentally open a malicious email. Don’t forget to scroll through your spam mailbox now and then. Important mail may end up in this box, and of course, you want to prevent that!

Most email providers, such as Outlook and Gmail, have the spam filter on by default. Is this not the case with your email provider? Then you can always purchase an external spam filter that distinguishes your unwanted e-mails from your desired e-mails.

Encrypt your email
It is possible to encrypt your email. This means that the content of an email is converted into a code. Only the recipient of the e-mail has the key to decrypt the e-mail. This way you prevent outsiders from watching your e-mail traffic.

With some e-mail providers, it is possible to send encrypted e-mails from the application. For example, you can send encrypted emails if you use Outlook, and you can send encrypted emails if you use Gmail. If your e-mail provider does not offer to send encrypted e-mails, you can purchase a separate program that makes this possible.

Use a VPN
Finally, if you want a secure e-mail, you can use a VPN. We have already discussed that it is very wise to use a VPN when connecting to a public WiFi network.

When you connect to a VPN, your internet traffic is not only secured when you are banned from a public network but also when you are connected to a secure network. Cybercriminals can also break into a secure network. It is therefore recommended to apply this extra security measure.

GOOSE VPN helps secure your email

GOOSE VPN is a 100% Dutch provider of VPN connections. At GOOSE VPN we think it is important that everyone can use our services. That’s why our VPN connections are not only reliable and easy to use, but also reliable.

In addition to VPN connections, you can also use the Cyber ??Alarm at GOOSE VPN. The Cyber ??Alarm from GOOSE VPN is an extra function that you can purchase when you log in to GOOSE VPN. This alarm monitors your internet traffic 24/7 and keeps track of whether your device is infected with malware. If you have accidentally opened a malicious link or attachment in an email, you will immediately receive a notification so that you can take immediate action.
This limits the chance that cyber criminals watch your internet traffic, or that your e-mail is used for criminal benefits.

Sign up to GOOSE VPN now

Do you think it is important that your emails can no longer be viewed by cybercriminals? Sign up now at GOOSE VPN with a 30-day money-back guarantee! If you also want to be notified as soon as your device is infected with malicious software (because you accidentally opened a link or attachment in a malicious email) you can add the Cyber ??Alarm to your subscription!

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