We’ve talked before about the importance of making sure that you have your password recovery information set up for all of your accounts. A few days ago, I showed you how to set it up for Gmail. (click here to read that) Today, we’ll look at Yahoo Mail. Without proper password recovery information, once you get locked out of your account, you could be out of luck.
Click here to go to the Yahoo Account Security Page.
Sign in. Click on Review account health to add a recovery email and phone number. If you get locked out, you’ll receive an email or text with a code that allows you to unlock your account and reset the password. When you’ve added the information (double-checking to make sure it’s correct), click Looks Good.
This is also where you can set up additional account security measures under Account Access.
If you have a smartphone with the Yahoo mobile app installed, Yahoo will send you a notification when someone wants to sign into the account that you can either approve or deny. That makes it impossible for someone to get into your account from a browser unless they have your phone. And since most hacking attacks into email accounts are done by strangers thousands of miles away, it’s more secure than a password.
If you select two-step verification, you’ll receive a text with a security code each time you want to log into your Yahoo account. The code will change each time you access the account, making it difficult for someone else to get their hands on it.
Once you’ve set up account recovery, if you have trouble signing into Yahoo Mail, just click Forgot password and you’ll be given recovery instructions.
One important thing to remember! Make sure that you keep the alternate email address and your phone number updated. I’ve told you before how my father-in-law got locked out of an account because he changed ISPs (he had his email with the ISP) and phone providers and didn’t change the recovery email and number for his account.