The email account is an essential service nowadays to be communicated, to be able to register on platforms and online services, to contact companies, etc. But it is also where we store important information, private attachments, personal data … What if someone has access to our account? We are going to talk about this in this article. We will also give recommendations to be protected.
Everything they can do with your email
We can say that today we trust our data to email. For example, when receiving security codes, storing attachments, data that we have received and that are important or any information that comes to us with an e-mail received or sent. All this means that, in the event that our account is stolen, our security and privacy could be compromised. Let’s see to what extent and what they could do with our account.
Access important information
The first thing they could do with our email account is access important information and data that we have stored. For example, we could have received a work contract or data related to a company and that all this was available to an intruder.
For one thing, our own privacy could be compromised. They could access data and information that we have saved. But we could also indirectly compromise others, so it is essential to protect the email account and not allow anyone to enter.
Use passwords from other services
This is an important point, since in part email works as a key manager . Surely on some occasion you have forgotten the password to enter a social network, such as Facebook, or any web page. You have given him a reminder and they have sent you the password by e-mail.
If an intruder had access to the email account, they could automatically have control of many other accounts. This can be a major problem, as it could lead to a domino effect and it could end up breaking into many more services.
Impersonate identity
This is another obvious problem. If someone had access to our email account, they could automatically use that address to contact others on our behalf. You could even use the address book that we have in that account and send files or data, as well as get a response.
They can use this method to deliver malware. Ultimately, a person is more likely to open an email with an attachment if it is sent to them by someone they trust. That is what would happen if a third party receives an email on our behalf and not from an unknown account.
See what platforms and services we use
They could also use the email account to view any other platform or service that we use . At the end of the day, the record remains through the emails we receive, messages from users on social networks, notifications … All of this is available through a simple search.
If they know what platform we use, they could include us in personalized Spam lists or even Phishing attacks where they use our name and thus achieve a greater probability of success without us taking measures to prevent it.
Using the account to attack others
On the other hand, an important problem that we must highlight is that they could use the account to attack other users. They may be our contacts or anyone else who has no relationship with us. A click and send a message or attachment could achieve their goal.
They could, for example, sneak links that lead to Phishing pages to steal other users’ passwords. Also send malware that could compromise someone else’s security by downloading an attachment or installing anything.
How to protect your email account
We have seen what could happen if an intruder gains access to our e-mail account. It could affect both security and privacy. For this reason, we are going to see some important recommendations that we can take into account to protect our address and avoid problems.
Protect account
The first and most important thing is to protect the account. This is essential to prevent anyone from accessing it. But we must do it correctly. Use a password that is secure, meets all the requirements and cannot be easily guessed. It should contain letters (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and other special symbols.
But in addition to the password, it is very important that we configure two-step authentication. It is an extra security barrier and the main platforms such as Gmail and Outlook have this function. If someone wants to log in with our account, even knowing the password, they will need a second step, which can be, for example, a code received by SMS.
Avoid malware
Of course it is also essential to prevent the entry of malware . Malicious software can be used by an attacker to steal keys and compromise their proper functioning. To avoid the entry of viruses, something very interesting is to have a good antivirus, such as Windows Defender, Avast or Bitdefender.
The protection of the system can not only be achieved with an antivirus, but there are other programs such as a firewall or even add-ons for the browser. The goal is always to detect threats and eliminate them in case we have any on the computer.
Have everything updated
But to maintain security and avoid problems, something we must take into account is to have the latest versions . This applies to the operating system that we are using, but also to any application that we have installed for email on the mobile phone or on the computer.
This can help us prevent vulnerabilities that can be exploited by third parties. On many occasions, errors arise that we must correct as soon as possible to avoid the entry of intruders.
Common sense
But if there is something essential to protect email accounts or any other service that we use in our day to day life, it is common sense. We must avoid making mistakes , such as downloading attachments without really knowing who sent them, logging into unofficial platforms or from suspicious links, etc.
Most cyber attacks take place after user carelessness. And this also applies to problems with email. We must avoid making mistakes that compromise security and privacy when browsing.
In short, if someone had access to our email account we could have significant problems. We have seen how it affects us, but also what we can do to be protected and prevent something negative to our safety from happening at all times.