Google Adds Unencrypted Warning Services to Gmail to Curb Malicious Phishing and Spam Emails

While encryption has been a huge topic of ours when it comes to new and emerging Ransomware threats, it has become part of a stern warning that Google is giving users of its Gmail email service. To ward off potentially malicious emails, Google has implanted two new security features that warn users in situations when they should be cautious about revealing sensitive information over email.

There are countless attempts by cybercrooks, hackers and spammers to collect the personal data of unsuspecting computer users through email. You have seen such messages before. They are always disguised as something legitimate from a well-known company or person. Spam messages sometimes slip by your email service's spam filter and end up in your inbox awaiting your undivided attention. Unsuspecting computer users click on links within such messages or end up downloading and opening an unknown email attachment. It is then that systems are infected with malware or are led to a phishing scheme to cleverly obtain your personal information.

In a move to curb spammy activity through use of unencrypted emails, Google is adding encryption warnings to notify users that an email received is not encrypted and may be a potential hazard.

Email encryption is mostly an automatic process that all major email services provide. The encryption type is usually TLS, which prevents prying eyes from viewing email data sent over the internet. Most times users will have an indicator in the upper right-hand of their email showing whether the email is encrypted or not, must like how your web browser will display encryption features on certain sites through a padlock or green background on the URL address.

In addition to the encryption warnings through Gmail, Google will display a question mark in place of profile images for emails sent by those whose identities cannot be authenticated by Google. Such a feature will help people avoid phishing emails that claim to be from a legitimate or trusted service, such as your banking institution. We cannot begin to count how many times hackers and spammers use fake banking emails in an attempt to gather your login credentials to your online banking account. Better yet, hackers will use the same methods to compromise your credit card details and max our your credit and debit cards before you have a chance to pump your next tank of gas.

Google has been clear during the rollout of the new unencrypted email warning service highlighting that not all of the emails that generate the warnings will be dangerous or untrusted messages. The new features are there to remind users to utilize caution and care for what information is transmitted over email.

Many believe that Google's move to enable the unencrypted email warning feature will push other email service providers to setup and provide encryption to emails transmitted from their server.

Google has setup the new service for Gmail users this week and will continue to roll it out to Google Work customers throughout this month.