2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. [View all]rjsquirrel
(4,762 posts)Download and archive your email on a local secured hard drive with strong password protected encryption delete all your old archives off the server (make sure you clear out "All Mail" in GMail). Enable two factor authentication on every account possible. Use very strong and frequently changed passwords. Try to be hyper alert to phishing and social engineering attacks. Do NOT USE email ever for any sensitive communication. Text messaging (esp via an encrypted option like snapchat or iMessage) if you must communicate in writing.
Learn to use Pgp encryption if you just must use email for anything not pro forma.
Email has never been a secure medium. It's at best a postcard and not a letter and can be intercepted at any of dozens or hundreds of nodes it might pass through around the world on its way to or from your computer or device.
Do not leave your email archive on anyone's cloud.
There is almost no one who has used email for a few years whose life could not be seriously affected by having that archive hacked. Luckily young people are turning away from the entire medium.