How to change your Gmail and Yahoo Password as Jamaican Government secures Websites

So you’ve heard about the LinkedIn and Twitter hack (Deer, 2016, June 19) and you’re worried that you’re Gmail and Yahoo accounts have been hacked.

Well, consider this you’re wakeup call to being more secure online. The Government of Jamaica, who have been victim of many hacking attempts at Government websites (Deer, 2016, May 18), is well aware.

Most of these hacks are due to phishing attacks, where unsuspecting persons click on malicious links in emails and end up running scripts that infect their computer with either ransomware or keyloggers.

The Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology is now set to take action, with the replacement of the Telecoms Act with an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Act (Deer, 2016, June 23), the inclusion of a Data Protection Act and the introduction of a Single ICT Regulator.

All this is really window-dressing; if hackers were sensible, they’ve hack the databases of the local banks i.e. NCB (National Commercial Bank), Scotia Bank Jamaica, etc, as they have all the same information found on Government websites sitting in their servers along with Credit and Debit Card information.

The real reason for this is that the Government of Jamaica is trying to attract more Call Centers (Deer, 2016, June 10) to Jamaica and as such are trying to make themselves seem more secure and friendly to International Investors.

But what about you personal security, especially of your emails, which are the main portal for these hacking attempts? We’ll I’ve got a DIY (Do it Yourself) for you today as it relates to changing you Gmail and Yahoo Email passwords. 

How to change your Gmail Password – One Password to rule them all

To change your password isn’t difficult.

Just be aware that this changes the password on all of your services connected to your Gmail account, such as your Picassa Web for Pictures, your Blogger Blog, your Google Drive account as well as the myriad of Google services accessible using your Gmail login and password.

First, login to Gmail and lick on your image icon in the upper right hand corner.

Then click My Account to access your account details as shown below:

Then click on Sign-in & Google Security and select Password to access the options to change passwords.

You’ll be prompted with a screen that’ll re-verify you by asking you to login once more with your old password. Google, really?

The next screen will allow you to enter a new password. I highly recommend a mixture of capital, common letter as well as numbers. Also, type the password into a notepad and copy it into the fields for New Password and Confirm Password.

Once copied, select Change Password to action your request.

You’ll be taken back to the Sign-in & Google Security where you can enable two-step verification (Deer, 2015, July 17), which add the option of sending a confirmation code to your smartphone. So back to you email again after the password change.

You’ll then receive an email confirming that you password had been changed, in case you forget!

Remember not to click on any strange links in your email….that’s what caused the problem in the first place.

How to change your Yahoo Password – Changing a password should not be so difficult

Changing a password in Yahoo Mail is quite a chore, I must admit.

First after you login to your Yahoo email, select Account Info. It took me quite awhile to realize this, by the way!

Once in the Personal Info page, you’ll see several options, including Account Security.

Select Account Security to get the options to change your password by clicking on Change Password.

You’ll be taken to a Create a new password page, which allows you to enter a new password and confirm the same.

Enter the passwords in the field provided. Again, I highly recommend a mixture of capital, common letter as well as numbers. Also, type the password into a notepad and copy it into the fields for New Password and Confirm Password.

A success splash screen will greet you confirming that you’ve successfully changed your password.

You’ll be taken back to the Account Security section, at which point you can choose to enable two-step verification (Deer, 2015, July 17), an option I highly recommend.

So there you have it; don’t wait on the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology to protect your data, as you can do it yourself!

References:

1. Deer, L. (2015, July 17). How to access your @Twitter Log in History – Stronger Password and Two Step Verification required. Retrieved from http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2015/07/Twitter-Log-in-History.html
2. Deer, L. (2016, May 18). Why Jamaican Government Websites are still hackable despite Cyber Incident Response Report. Retrieved from http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2016/05/Cyber-Incident-Response-Report-2016.html
3. Deer, L. (2016, June 10). How to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers – A Brief Listing of Call Center Job Openings in New Kingston. Retrieved from  https://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2016/06/Call-Center-job-Openings-New-Kingston.html
4. Deer, L. (2016, June 19). How to change your LinkedIn and Twitter Password after the Great Social Media Hacking of 2016. Retrieved from https://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2016/06/change-LinkedIn-Twitter-password.html
5. Deer, L. (2016, June 23). How Jamaican ICT Sector is being upgraded with ICT Act, Single ICT Regulator and Data Protection Act. Retrieved from http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2016/06/ICT-Act-Single-ICT-Regulator-Data-Protection-Act.html

 

 

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