Google services such as Gmail are usually pretty safe. If someone hacks an account, generally it’s the account’s owner fault: maybe they were using passwords too weak (and since we’re talking about it: are your passwords safe? Think about it!). If you are looking for elevating your Gmail protection, having already enabled two-steps authentication and set complex passwords, then we suggest some extensions for your browser.
We suggest third-party extensions, with several functions: they avoid Google spying on what you write in your email, protect you from phishing attacks, blocking sites that will sneak data and so on.
Protecting Gmail with Password Alert: the Chrome extension that protects you from phishing
Created directly from Google, Password Alert is a Chrome extension that protects you from possible attempts of phishing in incoming emails. This add-on warns you if you enter your Google password at any fake page or linked to some scams, allowing you to change it immediately. Very often some sites simulate the Google login, but once you enter your data, you can say goodbye to your account. With Password Alert you can feel safe.
Protecting Gmail with Web of Trust: a Chrome extension that protects your Gmail account
Google, and particularly Gmail, already includes a service that reports any phishing links and websites that look suspicious, but they are not 100% spot-on. To be even safer, especially if you buy a lot of goods online, you can add an extra layer of security by downloading the Web of Trust extension for Chrome. This add-on gives a score from 1 to 5, indicating how safe a site you’re visiting is. So, if you click a link from any message in your Gmail, you know right away if you landed at a real site or some scam. For example, take a complete-the-payment email: did you ever wonder if it is phishing?
Thanks to the combined effort of both Gmail and Web of Trust, you can relax.
Protecting Gmail with Ugly Email: a Chrome extension that will alert you in case of trackers
Thanks to the extension for Chrome Ugly Email, you’ll discover whether there are trackers in the emails you receive. Normally they only ping back to the sender if you open an email or not, when and where: but if you don’t want to say to anybody whether you opened a mail or not, you can use Ugly Email to find out what message to open and which you’d better not. The extension does not block the tracker, it only indicates them, but is a good starting point.
Protecting Gmail with SecureGmail: the Chrome extension that prevents anyone, even Google, to peek your email
We know that when it comes to Google, privacy is always a hot topic. Gmail allows Google to offer ads against you email messages, modeled as much as possible on your interests. Nothing too dangerous, but we also know that potential spies are quite different.
The SecureGmail extension allows you to send emails privately: encoding and decoding all received and sent email in Gmail before they pass from Google’s servers. In doing so, no one can spy on them: the recipient must use a password specified by you to decode the message. You can use this extension to protect the most sensitive content: maybe it’s a little overkill for all your messages.