Still got a Yahoo Mail account? You need to start telling lies
As we reported earlier this week Yahoo has suffered yet another major security breach. This will have sent many users scurrying to change their passwords, but what else can you do to protect your account?
Adam Levin, chairman and founder of identity protection specialist IDT911 suggests that users need to start telling lies. He doesn't mean lying about the fact that you have a Yahoo account -- though given the severity of breaches it has suffered that might save you some embarrassment. No, he means telling lies in the answers to your security questions.
"Users should lie when providing new answers," says Levin. "It's not about veracity. It's about consistency. Your mother’s real maiden name, along with so many other answers to security questions, is easy to find nowadays through social media accounts or simple social engineering tactics, and this will be exploited to gain access to even more valuable data. Just make sure you aren't so creative in your answers that you can't remember them and lock yourself out".
You should also enable two-factor authentication on your account to thwart unauthorized logins. Yahoo provides step-by-step instructions on how to do this. In addition you should consider using the site's Account Key app which sends a verification request to your phone so you don't need to remember passwords.
You need to change your passwords elsewhere too, especially if you've signed up using your Yahoo mail account, and for other Yahoo-owned services like Tumblr and Flickr. Use unique, strong passwords for each account and get some password manager software to help you organize them.
Ideally you should consider switching to another email provider rather than give Yahoo a third chance. If you do want to hold on to your Yahoo account for signing up to things online, then make use of the site's disposable addresses feature, found in the Security section of the email Settings menu.
If you do set up a mail address elsewhere, the advice above about setting up 2FA and telling lies in your security answers is still good practice to protect your account.
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