Email attacks were a massive talking point in 2011, with Hotmail and Yahoo email users being the main targets of hackers.

Mon 12 Dec, 2011 // Chris Allan

Billions of emails are sent across the world every single day, and with this comes the threat of mass mailing viruses as well as email hackers. 2011 saw a particularly high number of email attacks on Hotmail and Yahoo accounts, following the attacks on the Gmail accounts. Many of these attacks come in the form of a malicious link sent via email, while many mean that even viewing a malicious email can allow access to a user's account. Many hackers aim to find the users' cookies stored on their computer in order to gain access to their account.

These attacks are not simply targeting private individuals, but also large corporations and organisations, where they can have a seriously detrimental affect on the security of the business. It's therefore essential that users of both personal, as well as corporate email accounts, follow a few essential basic points to increase their email security.

If you are a private individual using a public computer it is important that you remember to delete both your history and passwords when you are finished. Web browsers generally record the pages you have visited as well as the passwords and personal information you entered.

To delete this information from a public computer, users must choose “clear history” and “delete cookies” when using Internet Explorer, or simply press Ctrl + Shift + Del if using Mozilla. Also, remember to sign out of your email or any other accounts before you sign off.

For large corporations, employees who carelessly use personal email accounts for business purposes increase the chances of passing sensitive company data over their own private emails, and thus put the security of the business at risk. Furthermore, as the phishing trend continues, it's crucial that users are able to spot the signs of such activity.

Spammers often use intriguing titles which entice new users into opening these emails. The aim of this is to trick users into entering their personal information so that they can execute financial or identity fraud. Besides the clever emails, which usually indicate that you have won something, emails that warn of accounts being closed or threaten legal action, for example, are also key indicators of phishing.

If you suspect scam or phishing emails in your inbox, the best way to protect your account is to simply not open the email. If you have already opened it, never click on the link embedded within. For large corporations, it is recommended that they receive advice from information security consultants to ensure that their information security risk is managed efficiently.

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