Gmail Hacking: How to Secure Gmail Accounts From Hackers

Summary: Gmail hacking targets your Google accounts. Learn how to secure Gmail accounts from hackers and what other things you can do to reduce the risk of attack.

Many people and businesses around the world have a substantial Google presence. Unfortunately, in the realm of cyber security, the bigger the online presence, the bigger the target for cybercriminals to exploit. The fact that Google has more than 2 billion Gmail users makes Gmail a gigantic target for hackers. There are steps you can take to help secure these accounts and reduce the risk of cyberattack to these and other accounts.

Securing Your Gmail Account

There is a fundamental Gmail security protocol available to all Gmail users: strong login passwords and two-step verification Gmail protection. These two main things offer the most help to secure Google accounts form hackers:

• Creating Strong Passwords – The days of using 2222 or your birth date as a password are long gone. Creating strong passwords is the first line of defense against cybercrime. A strong password should contain multiple characters, including numbers, letters (upper and lower case) and special characters. Nothing about the password should relate to anything in your life that could be discovered publicly through social media or public records.
  Hackers now use software to try thousands of websites at a time with stolen credentials. If you re-use passwords on multiple sites, you make a cybercriminal’s task much easier. The problem with using a password repeatedly is that if a hacker gets into one of your accounts, they will be able to access all the other online accounts sharing that password. The more website logins are compromised, the greater the risk of a major breach of your private data, including identity theft. Generally, the more characters a password contains, the more difficult it is to hack. Using fewer actual words and more assorted random characters also makes it more difficult for you to be attacked.
• Using Two-Step Verification for Gmail – Robust cyber security contains many layers. Using two-step verification for Gmail, you add the next layer of protection beyond creating strong passwords. With this very small extra step, the user dramatically decreases the chance of unauthorized access to their accounts. Ironically, Google reports that less than 10% of Gmail account users avail themselves of two-step verification.
  • With Gmail, the two-step verification is simple and probably takes less than 30 seconds to employ:
    • When logging in to a Gmail account, you are asked to send a code to a cell phone number. You enter the code and you are logged in. That’s it. If someone else besides you tries to log in to your account, you will get a notification of this attempt. The other person attempting to log in would need the code to get access to your Gmail account.

Google Account Security Check

Google provides a free and easy-to-use security screening test called a Google Security Checkup. A Google account security check is a good way to review and protect your account from outside targeted attacks. In addition, the checkup will advise you of all third-party access to your data and allow you to identify any unauthorized access and remove any programs with extensive access to your private data. Finally, by following the Google prompts, you can secure your account.

Google’s Confidential Mode

By selecting to run in Confidential Mode, Google allows automatic encryption of emails and a setting to autodelete certain emails on an expiration date that the user selects. You can also bulk-delete emails to free up additional space and avoid higher storage fees.

Save PDF Backups of Your Email

Gmail hacking is still possible even when taking extra steps to secure your emails. By saving important emails to PDF, in the event of an attack, you will still be able to retrieve the critical contents of those emails. These can be saved on your computer as documents, or emailed to a different account.

Cyber Security Services for Your Home or Business

Many home and small and midsized business (SMB) users do not avail themselves of the free or inexpensive cyber security tools available. Whether you work from home or in-office, you should be aware of all the new threats to emails, computer, network and devices and be trained in security awareness best practices to avoid them. The best training is done by a live virtual presenter so that question can be addressed as they come up and training can be customized to cover the tasks your employees actually encounter. Software training quickly becomes dated and usually provides too much information or useless information.

Not everyone has the time or expertise to review account security, set up two-step verification in Gmail or perform a Google account security check, but it is time well-spent if it can reduce the likelihood of an expensive cyber attack or data breach. IT network professionals can assess your specific needs of your computer systems, recommend solutions and keep your system running smoothly. A modest investment in professional IT assistance is a smart way to protect private and business data. An assessment will show where any security gaps exist and how best to address them. It can help you get more out of your IT office and mobile devices, freeing up your time to concentrate on more substantial business or personal tasks.