Online security is important. Passwords are important. Not reusing your passwords is very important!
How many passwords have you reused across different platforms and accounts? What happens if you get hacked? Are you giving your passwords away for every account you have? In this day and age, reusing passwords is not necessary. It is dangerous.
The below stats from Threat Post [external link] are scary …. people know reusing their password is a risk, but they continue to do it. Don’t let this be you!
The solution is a password manager. It stops you having to remember dozens if not more passwords. That go-to piece of paper where all passwords are written down is not secure. A password manager stores your encrypted passwords in a virtual vault, either on the cloud or locally. This allows you to remember only one long, secure password that nobody will know (or guess) to get you into your passwords. Once in your password manager, you can launch the different accounts you have linked to it, for example, Facebook, WordPress, eBay, YouTube, Amazon, Twitter, governmental accounts, your work account etc. It really is very handy!
Our go-to password manager is LastPass as it allows you to create unique, complex passwords; capture and manage login credentials; sync them across multiple devices; and share them with others you trust. Its password auditing and updating features let you identify and eliminate weak or duplicate passwords with just a mouse click or two. You can also store information such as bank details in there as well as payment cards and addresses. If your master password is weak, it will tell you and will advise you to update it to something stronger.
Strong and secure passwords are long and hard to guess; special characters and numbers are less important. A short phrase unique to your life is more secure and easier to remember than any version of ‘P@s$W0r|D’!
Many password managers offer two-factor authentication, where accessing the password vault also requires a one-time code sent via SMS or generated by an app such as Google’s Authenticator. This minimises the risk of your information being accessed. This incidentally is something we use this across our platforms at techrelate so staff can log into the server and email.
Lastpass is free but for extra security you can also upgrade to premium where you will benefit from cyber security tips and tricks to keep you and your accounts safe. They will even get in touch of your accounts have been compromised on the dark web.
Of course, there are other password managers out there. Find the right one for you but do get one to save your brain from having to remember multiple passwords, increase your data security so you can then worry about something else!
