“Through the strength of our cloud-based security and abuse detection systems*, we recently uncovered a campaign to collect user passwords, likely through phishing. This campaign, which appears to originate from Jinan, China, affected what seem to be the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of users including, among others, senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists.”

Even though the original target was Government, I thought it was a good time to discuss how to keep your email account safe. I have some simple tips that should only take a few minutes to incorporate.

1. Create safe passwords: I have discussed this one before but always a good reminder to change passwords occasionally, make them difficult to guess and never use the same password for email and financial sites, i.e. bank, PayPal, etc.

2. Enable Gmail 2-step Authentication: Very easy to set up and instructions are included in this blog. Upper right side of page click the link with your email address> drop down menu, select “Account Settings”> you will see a link for “2 Step authentication> follow instructions.

3. While in Gmail, make sure “Always use https:” option is selected: This makes it difficult for your account to be hijacked. Click on the “gear” in upper right hand side of Gmail home page (must be logged in)> drop down menu “mail settings”>Browser connection>”Always use https:” Scroll to bottom> Save Changes.

4. This was a phishing scam that tricked people into giving up their passwords. Always be very careful when responding to email and clicking on links embedded in email- especially if you aren’t sure who the sender is. Read this post to learn how to avoid phishing scams and stay safe.

Even if you don’t use Gmail, you may want to check the settings on your email account to make sure your account is as safe as it can be. Don’t forget to check your kid’s email accounts to make sure their settings are as secure as they can be!

Stay safe out there!

Tracy

@McAfeeCyberMom on Twitter