Most people run a lot of information through their email, and when it becomes compromised it can be inconvenient — or if it’s a business email account, both embarrassing and expensive. Often your contacts such as clients, customers, employees, or patients will start receiving junk emails from you, some of which can contain viruses or phishing scams.

That’s particularly dangerous since the email is coming from “you”, so some recipients may trust a link they otherwise wouldn’t click.

It’s important to remember that email is insecure by nature, mostly because it’s sending clear text through the internet that can be read by anyone that intercepts it. When you factor in all the places an email is duplicated, such as the sender’s PC, the mail server that actually sends it, the recipient’s machine and their mail server, it opens up more opportunities for trouble.

That last bit isn’t to scare you, but just to be clear about the technology involved and why it can be vulnerable.

Signs Your Email Might Be Compromised

Particularly if you’re using a free webmail like Gmail, Hotmail/Live, or Yahoo, an occasional check of your mail settings is helpful. This way if anything has been changed you’ll see it. A common change on webmail accounts that allow for external POP access is the activation of this feature that, by default, is usually of