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"  Q: I rely on Web-based e-mail, but am worried about how secure these services are. Is there anything I can do to protect my mail against hackers and digital snoopers? A: It&amp;#039;s easy to understand the appeal of Web-based e-mail services such as Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. They are free, offer several gigabytes of storage and are accessible from virtually any computer or smartphone with a link to the Web. And nearly everybody uses them. But in order to enjoy them, users must take a leap of faith. After all, the services store mail on distant servers, and the fact that you can access your account anytime and anywhere means that somebody else potentially could as well\u2014as headlines reminded us last September, when vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin&amp;#039;s Yahoo Mail account was hacked. What&amp;#039;s more, if your account does become compromised or you lose your password, it can be nearly impossible to get a tech-support agent on the phone\u2014a shortcoming that is to be expected from any free service that is used by millions of people. So Web-mail users need to be especially careful when it comes to their cyber security. Here&amp;#039;s how. Picking a Password Your password is your first and only line of defense against snoopers, so you&amp;#039;d better make it a good one. That means avoiding any words that can be found in a dictionary. One hacker technique involves using programs that automatically try every word in the dictionary as a potential password. This is why the best passwords utilize a mix of letters (preferably both upper and lower case), numbers and symbols (if your service allows them). As difficult as it is to remember a dozen different passwords, resist the temptation to use the same password for e-mail that you do for other programs\u2014all it would take is one hacked account to wreak immeasurable havoc on your life. To make remembering multiple passwords easier, try to find a way to incorporate the name (or first few letters) of a site or service into the password. Just make sure it is not done in a way that would be obvious to somebody who might stumble upon your password. For example, maybe make the fourth letter of your password the same as the last letter of the Web site you are using. Securing Your Questions Although security questions aren&amp;#039;t as obvious as they once were (mostly gone are the days of &amp;quot;What&amp;#039;s your mother&amp;#039;s maiden name?&amp;quot;), questions such as &amp;quot;What is the name of your favorite book?&amp;quot; (currently offered by Yahoo Mail) can still be cracked by somebody with initiative and an Internet connection. The answer may even be in your Facebook profile. And if you happen to be a high-profile personality, the answers are often little more than a Google or Wikipedia search away (this is how the hacker broke into Sarah Palin&amp;#039;s account). That&amp;#039;s why you should never, ever, answer these questions truthfully. And if you can, write your own security question (most of the free Web-mail services give you this option), and make sure it&amp;#039;s something that can&amp;#039;t be found by looking at your high school yearbook. Raising the Security Level Of the three most popular Web mail services, Gmail has the best security\u2014it&amp;#039;s the only one that gives you the option to encrypt all of your mail using a standard called Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (or https). However, this encryption, which makes it difficult for digital snoopers to intercept your messages from open Wi-Fi hotspots, is turned off by default. To switch it on, click Settings on the top of your Gmail page. On the General tab, scroll down to where it says &amp;quot;Browser connection&amp;quot; and select &amp;quot;Always use https.&amp;quot; Alternatively, you can just type &amp;quot;https://www.gmail.com&amp;quot; (notice the &amp;quot;s&amp;quot;) into your address bar to bring up a secure version of the site. This encryption may cause Gmail to load a bit slower, but it is worth it, especially if you are using a public hotspot. Hotmail and Yahoo Mail also offer https encryption, but only for the user name and password in your log-in page\u2014your actual messages are still vulnerable. In Yahoo Mail, this setting is always on. For Hotmail, you can turn it on by clicking the button that says &amp;quot;Use enhanced security&amp;quot; below where you enter your password. If security is a serious concern for you, consider using the Hushmail Web-mail service, which uses more advanced encryption. The service&amp;#039;s free accounts limit you to just 2 MB of storage, with larger (and more useful) accounts costing about $35 per year. One last point: Web-mail services can keep users logged in for a very long time after you quit the browser. Sometimes weeks. So make absolutely sure you log out of your e-mail when you are done\u2014especially if you are using a public or shared computer. To be sure you are logged out, browse back to your Web-mail log-in page. And even though most Web browsers allow you to store your user name and password in a &amp;quot;keychain&amp;quot; that automatically inserts them when you return to the site, be wary of this. Even if you are the only person who uses your computer, laptops can get lost or stolen\u2014and if that happens your log-in info will go with it. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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