Keep your e-mail account safe from hackers

— -- What would you lose if your e-mail were hacked? Your personal messages and contacts would be compromised. And your messages could include personal photos or financial details.

Recently, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account was hacked. The contents were posted on the Internet for the world to see.

Apparently, a complete stranger did the hacking. That's how easy it is to hack an e-mail account.

The problem with Web mail

With Web mail, your user ID is generally a part of your e-mail address. Anyone who receives e-mail from you knows your user ID. An investigation into Palin's e-mail usage made her e-mail address public knowledge. So, the hacker only needed her password.

Did the hacker guess her password? No. The hacker created a new one using Yahoo's password reset feature. It's actually pretty easy to do.

To reset the password, the hacker answered a security question. That, too, was gleaned from public information.

Dealing with password reset

Your personal information may not be on the Web, but you could still be hacked. Odds are, you specified a security question and answer when you created your account. Friends and family probably know the answer to the question. Or, it could be found with a Google search.

The password reset is critical. If you answer it truthfully when setting up your account, you're at risk. So don't. Use a nonsensical answer that only you know.

For example, select "What is your father's middle name?" Answer it "my@name@is@kim." Or, use "my+dog's+name+is+Boo-Boo."

It is unlikely that a hacker could supply the correct response. The system doesn't care that your response makes no sense.

Protecting existing accounts

You probably want to keep your existing e-mail account. You probably also supplied correct information when you created it.

Depending on your provider, you can change the answers to your security questions. Yahoo users are out of luck. But Hotmail and Gmail users aren't.

In Hotmail, click your account name and select "View your account." Under Password reset information, click "Change" beside "Question." Change your security question and answer.