| Product: |
email privacy |
| Date: |
01/11/01 (2335 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: .
Disadvantages: Your email and private information are at risk
Ever sent someone a sweet nothing in an email? Ever had them not reply and feel really down as you ponder your next move, unaware that in fact they had never read the email and so couldnt contact you like you asked? Ever sent your mobile number to a friend online and wondered if maybe someone else had obtained it in the process? Ever purchased online and had the newly built company send you an email back with all your bank details confirmed only to realise another snotty little kid ahs been into your account before you?
OK, so some situations are worse than others but on a personal level its the simple fact that someone can easily gain access to your mail and read your private items before you do, possibly even removing them before you even know they are there! If you're a business it becomes even worse, remember the teenager who sent Bill Gates a pack of Viagra using the billionaires own bank card number? Imagine if that had been a big time theif.....
Nobody wants other people to read their post and email is no different, its simply electronic post. The problem is the ease and anonymous nature of the ability to illegally read the documents sent to you. If they open a letter they leave fingerprints but open an email and you leave nothing (unless you forget to hide your URL number...).
So how does it work? There are a few ways you can 'hack' an email account and although I dont want to detail them all (I am not here to promote email crime) I shall outline the main ones.
1) You get to know the persons password somehow. This is the simplest form of hacking although it can be avoided if you change your password regularly and try to avoid other people finding it out. If someone gets into your email account this way then its more than likely that they know you somehow in person.....
2) You hack the programming. This requires far more expertise than simply looking over someones shoulder. Here you need to
know how to program a website and figure out how to overcome the security either through passing it or disabling it completely. This is what keeps many teenage hackers busy - cracking the sites in this way...
3) You run a program on someone elses computer. Its possible to get programs that run on other peoples computers that records what keys they press and then emails the notes to you when they close down/log off.... The problem with this method is they need access to your computer to install the small program but once they do so it becomes 'invisible' and is hard for an amateur to detect.
4) You can run a different program.... With sites like Hotmail now incredibly easy to hack its hard to believe I still use it for important emails. All you need do is go to any search engine and type in Hack Hotmail and there it is, a whole host of programs you can run that will get you access to almost any hotmail account. Incredible that it really is that easy.
So you've been hacked? Want to know what to do? The first thing is to try to figure out if you have missed any emails. If you have been expecting an email and it isnt there then contact the sender to find out if it should have arrived. If it has then you might have a problem but its always best to eliminate all possibilities before assuming the worst.
Your next port of call is to change your password. I used this second as emails can sometimes be vital but if you arent in a rush for emails then get this one done first as it will secure your account a little better. It guards against people who know your password but if they hacked you any other way then it will provide little help to you. 9 times out of 10 it will secure the account though.
Having changed your password you then want to search for any missing emails. Many hackers do it for the fun of it, they get a kick out of simply being able to read other peoples mail and they arent there to c
ause any real harm. Nobody likes a busy body but its likely they will simply want to cause an inconvenience to you. Its wise to therefore check in all your folders and not just your inbox, they might have hidden a new email in the trash folder for instance. Try everything and hope you get lucky.
Whether you find any emails or not, you then need to contact the email host. In the case of Hotmail simply email customer services and then you will be sorted out. They will want to know when you were hacked, what they deleted and also anything else you can give them to go on (some hackers leave a calling card such as an attachment of somekind...). Its therefore important you take the other steps first and obtain the information before emailing the hosts.
You've managed to sort out any problems that have been caused and now you want to ensure it doesnt happen again? I wish I could tell you the answer to this one. You can try using an email company that encrypts their emails and you can try to use some sort of code on really important emails (maybe that only you and the recipient know?). Its extreme but sadly its the only way to really do it in todays age where everyone knows a way past something.....
All I can say is that emails get hacked more often than phone calls and so it can be dangerous sending highly sensitive information (such as bank details etc...) via an email. They can be hacked and anything can be done with them in the wrong hands so bear that in mind when you write. At the end of the day all you can do is keep your password private and change it regularly in order to prevent anyone learning it. Everything else is just down to the company who host the email site and those who hack although I must add that the percentage of emails that do get 'hacked' is very very small.... Its just a sad world we live in and a small minority will always try to ruin it for the masses, deal with it.
*By the way, the st
ars below are for how good email privacy is and due to the small percentage of emails that are read by someone other than the intended recipient it is rather good*
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