has become, together with and , in one of the most used email services in the worldwith a variety of products and applications designed for use in the workplace
A single account of Microsoft may provide access to a wide variety of services that may store important data.so a section that must be taken very seriously is the privacy and security of your account data. outlook.
In this article, We will teach you everything you need to know about the security features of your Outlook emailfrom the privacy risks you may face, to the steps you can take to improve your security.
What are the main privacy and security risks in Outlook?
The threats to the integrity of a user’s data are constantly renewed and updated, so regardless of all the security settings that an email client like Outlook can have, there is always the risk of a malicious attack.
Let’s see:
Identity fraud
It is one of the constant risks for email clients. These are emails that personify people, companies or pages you know in order to obtain a benefit through means harmful to the user. This scam method is widely used in both instant messaging clients and email servicesand can result in huge data and resource loss for unsuspecting users.
Access to all accounts linked to mail
When creating an account in Outlook, in the same way as a Gmail account, We can use it to access services such as Microsoft Teams, and Office. In addition to being able to use them to create accounts on other pages and applications. If for any reason your email password is stolen, you could lose access to all accounts created using this emailwhich would result in a massive loss of information that could be very harmful.
Phishing
It is a form of identity theft in which an attacker sends emails, posing as companies or banks, where it threatens the user with a severe consequence unless immediate action is taken. This action can be sending money to an account number, or entering a link provided on the page, through which you can steal sensitive bank data from the user, either to impersonate your identity or to sell on the black market.
virus infection
Although Outlook performs a scan of documents and links before sending them, it is possible that some file contains malicious software that escapes security checks. If this is the case, when it arrives at the destination mail and is opened, causes an infection in the receiving computer that will have negative repercussions for the integrity of the computer and the operating system. In addition, depending on the type of virus, it can also represent a risk of user data leakage.
How secure is Microsoft email?
Because the main demographic of Outlook users consists of professional users and business owners, the most prominent security features are oriented to the workplace of the platform. As part of the Microsoft 365 application suite, Outlook has a series of advanced security features that allow you to use the mail service without having to worry about spam or malware.
The function of sending and receiving emails in Outlook, has advanced threat detection tools, which analyze the files and links attached to each email. For files, if a threat is detected in one of them, will be deleted automatically for security. As for the links, when trying to open them, a window will pop up informing about an unsafe link.
It also has automatic protection that is derived to all Microsoft accounts that end in @outlook.com, @live.com, @hotmal.com Y @msn.com. Plus, its security features apply whether you access your Outlook email from the mobile app, desktop version, or mobile or desktop web browser.
Learn how to improve the security of your Outlook account
In addition to all security features natively provided by Outlook, there are more actions that the user can take to optimize the security of their email tray. Most of those options consist of changes that can be made manually to the password and other elements of authentication and storage.
Now, a list of measures you can take to improve the security of your mail:
put a strong password
The use of a strong and complex password makes it less likely that it can be guessed, or stolen by an attacker, so you need to make sure your password has the correct length and characters.
To modify the password of your Outlook email, you just have to:
- On the main screen of your Outlook email, select your profile photo.
- From the dropdown menu, select “My profile”.
- Enter to “Security”, located in the top bar.
- Select the option “Change my password”.
- Verify your identity if prompted. This can be done by means of a code sent to the telephone number registered in the account, or to an alternative mail.
- Once verified, enter current passwordand the new password in the indicated fields.
- Choose “Save”.
Change your password regularly
This action can make a big difference in optimizing the security of your email data. Update your password and keep it strong, in conjunction with other security features, will prevent the intrusion of attackers to your account. The maximum recommended period to change the password is 90 days, although Outlook functions allow password modifications as many times as the user wants. Nevertheless, the recommended frequency to change the password is once a month.
Activate 2-step verification
The two-step verification will add an extra layer of security to your email account outlook.
Once activated, it will request the login password, together with other data to confirm the identity of the user:
- As soon as you are in the inboxclick on your profile picture.
- Choose the option “My profile” in the drop down menu.
- Enter the section of “Security”, which you will see in the top bar.
- Choose “Two Step Verification”.
- Select from the available options and follow the instructions for each verification method.
- Once the data is updated, click on “Save”.
Enable mobile start confirmation
Unlike the Gmail login mode, Outlook allows you to log in using a code sent to a mobile phone numberthus replacing the use of passwords to log in.
To enable this feature, just follow these steps:
- From the inbox, click on your profile photo and select the option “My profile” in the drop down menu.
- Swipe to the section “Account info” and click “Login Preferences”.
- Perform identity authentication if prompted, and then select the option “Add phone number”.
- Enter your phone number in the specified field. Once logged in, click “Following”.
- Write the code that will reach this number. then press “Following”.
By entering the number, You can replace the use of the Outlook password with a code that will arrive at your mobile number. This will generate an extra layer of security by limiting the use of your password to access your email accounts.
Remove unnecessary plugins
The use of unnecessary plugins may impair integrity and security from our mailbox, leaving it vulnerable to malicious attacksso it is necessary to manage these programs to correct any vulnerability.
The procedure to remove the add-ins that we do not need from our Outlook desktop client is as follows:
- On the desktop client Outlook, Choose “Accessories”. This access is located in the top bar.
- In the popup window that will openyou will be able to see all the plugins available. Select all the plugins you want to remove checking the boxes next to each name.
- click on the button “Put off”.
Learn how to improve the privacy of your Outlook email
Situations such as email spam by newsletters are, in addition to being tedious, a potential privacy risk, since some of these emails could contain malicious software.
With this potential risk in mind, there are several measures we can take to prevent any danger from spam emails, in order to better protect our privacy:
Cancel newsletter subscriptions
The newsletter, or bulletins, are regular publications distributed in a massive way and focused on a main theme. These publications reach our mailbox if we are subscribed to them, and its volume can be such that it could saturate our inbox.
To delete a newsletter from our Outlook feed, directly from the inbox, we just have to follow a simple procedure:
- .
- once in your inboxselect an email whose sender is the newsletter from which you want to unlink your email.
- click in option “Cancel subscription”, located at the top of the window, just above the sender.
If you are subscribed to several newsletters and you want unbind your email from more than one, just repeat this procedure selecting an email whose sender is one of the newsletters you want to delete.
Set anti-spam filter
To establish a Safe anti-spam filter in Outlook it involves creating specific rules for senders of spam. well applied, These directives will delete any incoming messages from any of the selected addresses.
To create rules on the Outlook email page, the steps are as follows:
- In the Outlook inboxselect the gear icon to open the settings, located in the upper right corner.
- click in “View all Outlook settings.”
- In section “Post” click the option “Rules”.
- Click on “Add new rule”.
- Assign a name to the rule. This action is mandatory.
- Select the option “Add a condition” and, in the section labeled as “Contacts” that you will see in the pop-up window, click on the option “Of”.
- Enter the emails what do you want block.
- In section “Assign an action”select the option “Remove”, which you will see among the first entries of the pop-up window.
- enable the option “Run Rule…
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