Yahoo! just announced another hack on it’s systems where a whopping one billion accounts were hacked and user data was compromised. Couple this discovery with 500 million Yahoo! accounts being hacked in September and you’ve got more than enough reason to ditch your Yahoo! account as soon as possible.
Following are hints and tips for Yahoo! account owners to ditch their current accounts and secure better methods of email communication…
- Before you delete your Yahoo! account, get rid of all the folders, emails and contacts and then delete the account. As an alternative, you can open up a Gmail account instead or if you use your Yahoo! account for business, PCSDesk can assist with moving you over to a business email account.
_ - Check to see if you have used your Yahoo! password with other sites. If you have, access those other sites and change the security questions and passwords as soon as possible. For example, if your Yahoo! email account name is “lastname@yahoo.com” and your bank login information is “lastname,” any hacker with access to your Yahoo! password will use it to log in to your bank account and other sites.
_ - If you used a mobile phone number in association with your Yahoo! account and you still use that number, then SMS phishing (a.k.a. “Smishing“) is something you should be aware of. Be aware!
If you need assistance in getting away from Yahoo! and onto a more secure emailing service, please drop us a line or give us a call at 866.976.9136 – we’re here to help.
