Reading your e-mail on a shared or public computer: before, during and after

Security·· 50 views· 3 min read

The short answer: on a computer that is not yours (an internet café, a hotel, a colleague's), open webmail in a private window, never let the browser save the password, do not download attachments unless you must and, at the end, log out and close the browser. If you have any doubt about that computer, change the mailbox password afterwards from a device of your own.

Before you log in

1 Ask whether you really need to. Your phone, with the mailbox set up, is nearly always safer than an unknown computer.
2 Open a private (or incognito) window in the browser. History, cookies and the session are then not kept once you close it.
3 Type the webmail address yourself and check you are on the right address, with the HTTPS padlock. Never use a link someone left open. The right addresses are in the webmail address and username.

While you are in

1 Always say no when the browser offers to save the password.
2 Avoid downloading attachments. If you must open one, delete it from the downloads folder before you leave, and empty the recycle bin.
3 Do not leave the computer alone with the session open, not even for a minute.
4 Do not type passwords for other services on that computer while you are at it.

Afterwards

1 Log out of webmail with the log out button. Closing the tab is not enough.
2 Close every browser window, so the private window wipes what it kept.
3 If the computer seemed dubious (slow, full of toolbars and pop-ups, in a public place), change the mailbox password as soon as you reach a device of your own: how to change the password. A public computer may have a program that records what you type.
Never use "remember me" or a password manager on a computer that is not yours. Whoever sits down next gets into your mailbox without the password, and can request password resets for your other accounts to that address.
Think someone got in afterwards? Signs: sent messages you did not write, new rules or forwarders, auto-replies you did not set. If you see any, follow what to do in the first hour.

Logged in on a computer you are not sure about and want help? Open a ticket.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

The webmail address and username: the three ways in

How to change an e-mail account password

Your e-mail account has been hacked: what to do in the first hour

A lost or stolen phone or laptop with the company e-mail on it: what to do first

A strong password and a password manager: how to stop reusing the same one

How to access your webmail

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