Email Security: How to Protect Your Inbox From Phishing and Hackers

Why Email Security Is Critical

Your email account is arguably the most important account you own. It serves as the recovery method for almost every other online service — banking, social media, cloud storage, shopping. If an attacker gains access to your email, they can reset passwords and take over your entire digital identity within minutes.

Recognizing Phishing Emails

Phishing is the number one attack vector for email compromise. Here are the red flags:

• Urgency and threats — "Your account will be suspended in 24 hours" or "Unauthorized access detected"
• Suspicious sender address — The display name may look legitimate, but check the actual email address. Look for misspellings like "amaz0n.com" or "paypa1.com"
• Generic greetings — "Dear Customer" instead of your actual name
• Unexpected attachments — Never open attachments you did not expect, especially .exe, .zip, or macro-enabled documents
• Hover over links — Before clicking, hover to see the actual URL. If it does not match the expected domain, do not click
• Grammar and spelling errors — While AI has made phishing more sophisticated, many attacks still contain telltale errors

Securing Your Email Account

Use a Strong, Unique Password

Your email password should be the strongest password you have — at least 16 characters, randomly generated. Use our Password Generator and store it in a password manager.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Use an authenticator app (not SMS) for your email 2FA. This is non-negotiable for your primary email account.

Review Connected Apps

Check which third-party apps have access to your email account and revoke permissions for anything you do not actively use.

Check Active Sessions

Periodically review active sessions and sign out of devices you do not recognize. Gmail: Security > Your devices. Outlook: Security > Recent activity.

Disposable Email Addresses

Use email aliases or disposable addresses for:

• Newsletter signups
• One-time registrations
• Online shopping at stores you do not fully trust
• Forum accounts

Services like SimpleLogin, AnonAddy, or Apple's Hide My Email create unique aliases that forward to your real inbox. If one alias gets compromised or spammed, you simply deactivate it.

Choosing a Secure Email Provider

If privacy is a priority, consider switching from Gmail or Outlook:

• ProtonMail — End-to-end encrypted, based in Switzerland, open source
• Tutanota — End-to-end encrypted, based in Germany, affordable
• Fastmail — Not encrypted by default but excellent privacy policy and no ads

Email Encryption Basics

Standard email is sent in plain text — like a postcard that anyone along the route can read. Email encryption ensures only the intended recipient can read your messages.

• TLS — Most providers now encrypt emails in transit (HTTPS equivalent for email)
• End-to-end encryption — ProtonMail and Tutanota encrypt messages so even the provider cannot read them
• PGP/GPG — Manual encryption for advanced users on any email provider

Quick Security Checklist

• Use a strong, unique password for your email
• Enable 2FA with an authenticator app
• Never click links in unexpected emails — go directly to the website instead
• Use email aliases for non-critical signups
• Review connected apps and active sessions monthly
• Consider a privacy-focused email provider for sensitive communications