The 25 Most Common Mistakes in Email Security

Countless computer crashes and thousands of spam emails later, I had learned the lesson that just opening spam email can bring harm to my computer. Unfortunately there are a whole host of traps and errors that catch new email users just because "they didn't know any better".

In this article we focus on 25 of the most common and easy to fix mistakes that people make when it comes to email security. We've designed this article with the new internet user in mind, so if you're an email expert, you may want to pass this along to your novice friends.

Properly managing your email accounts

1. Using just one email account.
2. Holding onto spammed-out accounts too long.
3. Not closing the browser after logging out. 
 4. Forgetting to delete browser cache, history and passwords.
5. Using unsecure email accounts to send and receive sensitive corporate information.
6. Forgetting the telephone option 

Emailing the right people

7. Not using the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) option.
8. Being trigger happy with the "Reply All" button
9. Spamming as a result of forwarding email.

Making backups and keeping records

10. Failing to back up emails
11. Mobile access: Presuming a backup exists.
12. Thinking that an erased email is gone forever.

Avoiding fraudulent email

13. Believing you won the lottery … and other scam titles.
14. Not recognizing phishing attacks in email content.
15. Sending personal and financial information via email.16. Unsubscribing to newsletters you never subscribed to.

Avoiding malware

17. Trusting your friends email.18. Deleting spam instead of blacklisting it.19. Disabling the email spam filter.20. Failing to scan all email attachments.

Keeping hackers at bay

21. Sharing your account information with others.. 23. Failing to encrypt your important emails.
25. Failing to use digital signatures.