hacker hack an Email We all use online services. Social media, working, networking, gaming, shopping, etc. are a part of our daily online activities. We are constantly worried about the safety of our social media accounts, apps, cloud, and devices. However, we generally ignore the key connecting them all, our email accounts.
Gaining access to an email will give hackers access to all the sites and services connected to it. Is it easy to hack someone’s email? The answer to that question depends on the skill of the hacker. Most of their tactics involve an action or a mistake on the target’s side. It is necessary to understand the common ways a hacker can get into your email.
How can a hacker hack an Email?
According to a study, the following are the methods a hacker may use to get access to your email account.
The hacker may hijack your phone or device, either manually or remotely. He can steal your device, clone it, or even use it when it is unattended. Or maybe send in malicious codes to hijack and use it as a zombie computer remotely.
- Obtain Password
A hacker may use multiple methods to obtain the password of your email account. A few of them are:
- Peek: He can observe when you type in the password and repeat the same.
- Guess: In case of a weak password, he can simply guess it. It is an easy task if he has been monitoring you.
- Keystroke Logging: He may obtain your password via implanting spyware in your device that will send back a report on the keyboard activity.
- Browser Hijack: The hacker can simply hack the browser and obtain all the saved passwords.
- Hijack email (by change password feature)
The hacker may use the ‘forgot and change’ password feature to hijack your account. However, every email account is protected by security questions. But if that has an easy (guessable) answers, you might want to change them soon.
- Phishing
The hacker may pose himself as a trustworthy entity and manipulate you into sharing sensitive information.
- Open and Unprotected Wi-Fi or VPN
If you are using an open or unprotected Wi-Fi or VPN, you are inviting the hacker to come and stroll into your device. He gains access as soon as you connect, and while you leisurely go about your online activities, malware and other malicious coding are being installed in your device.
How to avoid it?
Here are a few tips that will help you cut down the possibilities of hacking your email.
- Strong Password: Always use a strong and complicated password. Never use the same password for multiple accounts.
- Change Password: You must time to time change the password of both your device and your email account.
- Log-Out: Always log-out. That way, if someone even gets their hands on your laptop or PC, they won’t be able to access your email account (unless you have saved your passwords.)
- Security Question: Always lie in your security questions. That way, nobody knows the correct answer, but you.
- Protected Wi-Fi: Always use protected and reliable Wi-Fi and VPN.
- Suspicious Email: Beware of the suspicious emails. They may be for phishing or contain malware.
- Activity Notifications: Take your account activity notifications seriously.
- Fake Profiles: Beware of the fake profiles on social media.
- Unattended Device: Never leave your device unattended.
- Software Updates: Always keep your software updated, including operating system, browser, anti-virus, anti-malware, etc.
People can use various tools available in the market or hire a hacker to hack someone’s email. The motive behind it can vary from person to person. It can be to spy on you, obtain confidential information related to your work, hijack your accounts connected to it, etc. Avoiding such circumstances is easy with a little caution. But, hackers are a persistent group. Let us be smart and not succumb to the success of evading it.
