E-Mail Security Tips

E-mail security tips.

This posting I will define some E-mail security tips, as always it is not a full and all fix for security but a good list of tips.

If you use a browser to access your Email, one of the most important tips is to make sure it uses SSL to connect you to the mail server. SSL or Secure Socket Layer is a internet standard of connection that will encrypt the connection so no or very little information is visible about what is being send.

A way (but not all the ways known) is to look for the https:// in the browser path. Some will change part of the dialog box green. Google does this, Other E-mail systems do as well.

If it connects using HTTPS then falls back to HTTP, my advice is to use a different web based E-mail client. On that note when ever possible do not use public machines to Login to your E-mail. Firstly you have no idea the setup of the machine and what programs are running at he same time your are trying to log into your account. Many places will add logging programs to there systems. This is not as a desire to track you but some places must to protect them from you.

When setting up A Email client connection (the way I would recommend when possible), IMAP or POP, try to set the connection to SSL or TSL to begin with. You will need to look at your client closer to know were the settings are located. Or go a simple search using your search engine of choice.

I want to talk a little on email clients, there are many to choose from, some are cross platform others are single platform. Cross platform clients are nice because you only need to learn one way to do something and most have the same function for each of the operating system. Many have the same basic functions, most are free so give them a try.

The ideas discussed here will only get you security for the connection and the exchange from your machine to the email server. There still is a risk if the other receiver gets the message from a unsecured machine or connection. One way to reduce the risk is to encrypt the message on the mail server and in turn require the receiver un-encrypt any messages sent. The next posting will hope to cover ways to to have your messages kept secured on the mail server, your own client and the receivers system.