Online security experts warn of email hacking

Online security experts warn of email hacking

Online security experts recently warned that a surge in email hacking will put your personal and financial data under siege. Fortunately, there are some basic defenses that can be implemented in just a few minutes.

Coming up with strong and memorable passwords is much easier than you might think. Here's how: First, write a simple sentence that you can remember. "I am four years and seven months old," for example. Since you should never use words that can be found in a dictionary, remove all but the first letter from each word. In this case, you'll keep J, A, Q, A, E, S, M. To make the password more secure, replace the letter Q with the number 0, and replace A with &.

Security experts say there are two types of people: those who have already been victims of electronic hacking and those who will be. Indeed, there are a plethora of free downloadable tools that can make guessing passwords a hassle. We will all fall victim to some form of hacking at one time or another, whether consumers or businesses, for example, if they don't encrypt their customers' data with a cheap SSL certificate.

To successfully carry out their targeted attacks, attackers will always try to learn more about us. They will research our email addresses, our job, our professional interests, and even the websites we browse. All of this information is compiled to launch a successful targeted attack. Once on our computers, the attacker's tools are designed to extract as much data as possible by recording our keystrokes, spying on our screens, and turning on our computers' microphones and webcams.

To avoid the worst, here are some tips to follow:

• If your computer is suddenly very slow and not responding as usual, have it checked by an expert.
• If you receive a message from a friend asking you to click on the link, simply don't do it, delete it.
• Change your passwords twice a year.
• With some email programs, you can benefit from automatic security encryption thanks to a cheap SSL certificate, so take advantage of it!