If there’s one bit of spring cleaning everyone needs to do, it’s changing your passwords.
Actually, security experts recommend we change passwords frequently (every couple of months), but that’s a difficult task for most of us, especially given just how many online accounts we have. One person has on average 19 different passwords covering all online accounts, and most of those accounts have the same password and are rarely changed.
Big mistake. Why? Let’s dive in.
1. You use the same password for all accounts.
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So you’ve picked out a difficult password that you can remember. Yay! You’ve now applied it to everything. NO! It may be convenient, but if a hacker cracks your one holy grail password, they’ll have the key to your entire digital life.
2. You create passwords using personal information.
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Having your birth year or street address makes a password easier to remember, but hackers can easily find out your birthdate, middle name, and elementary school you went to. Better to be safe than oh so sorry.
3. You share your passwords with others.
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You’ve got a Netflix account, and your kids want to binge watch a new series on their laptops. No big deal, right? How about when a neighbor borrows your login info to watch HBO on your account? Sharing your passwords with anyone can be the beginning of a slippery slope. It’s not worth risking having your password being passed on, especially if it’s the same one for your other accounts.
4. You don’t change your passwords often.
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In order to keep passwords strong, you should change them every three months or so. Remember, changing a password is much less painful than dealing with identity theft.
So, how to you make frequently updating passwords easy?
There are great password manager tools such as Dashlane and LastPass that will safeguard your passwords from potential hacks.
Cybersecurity is something we take seriously here at Infomedia, and we love to empower our clients to protect themselves online as much as possible. It’s worth it to take time creating and managing your passwords on the regular to keep them out of the wrong hands.
