How to Create a Safe Email Log-In Name
Choosing a secure email log-in name is of great importance. However, the log-in name is only one-half of the security puzzle. There are two portions of text associated with an email account: the log-in name and password. It is possible to have a weak log-in name but a strong password. Or, there are cases where the log-in name is strong but the password is weak. For the highest possible security, you must make both your log-in name and password equally strong to prevent "dictionary attacks." Security is only as good as the weakest link.
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Instructions
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Create your email account log-in name, including at least two or more odd characters. These might include punctuation marks such as a period, an underscore (underline-dash), a minus-sign, etc. If your email provider doesn't permit such characters, attach a three- or four-digit random number to the beginning or end of your log-in name. This will prevent hacking software from guessing your log-in name, as such software attempts to use dictionary words for guesses.
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Create, or change, your password so it is equally secure. Many email providers won't permit the use of special characters in the log-in name, other than letters and numbers, but many permit special characters in the password. Include two or more special characters and at least two numbers along with the remainder of your password.
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Write down your log-in name and password and store it in a secure location where you are the only one with access to it. This is important in the event you forget either of them.
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Check for a secure browser connection when using your email provider. Although most email providers use secure encrypted Internet connections, this isn't always the case. The two ways of determining if your provider is using a secure connection are: 1) Look in the web address bar, where you typically see "http://". If there is an "s" at the end of it ("https"), then the connection should be encrypted. 2) Most web browsers will display a small padlock icon in their lower-right corner. The padlock will appear "locked" when your connection is secure. This icon generally appears along with the "https" in your browser's web address bar.
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Tips & Warnings
To prevent "Phishing" attacks, never click on any clickable links in emails that appear to have come from your email provider, credit card company or bank account. If you receive an email from any of these, manually type the web address for your bank or provider into the browser address bar and then log in to the site. "Phishing" is when hackers send emails that appear to have come from your bank or provider, but route you to a fake website if you click the link in the email. Once there, they steal your log-in and password to take control of your account.
