Make Your Online Passwords Strong
Are your passwords strong enough to protect your accounts from unauthorized access?
Most of us have a variety of online accounts – everything from financial tools to social media. All of these accounts have varying degrees of sensitive information. Having a strong password is one of the most important things you can do to protect your online accounts.
Here are some password protection tips:
Don’t Use the Same Password for Everything
You should have a different password for every account, especially ones that involve finances and payments.
Don’t Use Short or Predictable Passwords
Sure, short or common words are easy to remember, but they’re also easier to hack. Common words, like those found in the dictionary are also easy to hack. If it’s easy for you, it’s easy for criminals.
Make Them Long and Strong
Experts recommend that you use at least eight characters or more if possible, and that you mix upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Get Creative
If you are having a tough time creating a strong password, use the first letter of each word in a phrase that you can easily remember, and make sure it doesn’t spell out a real word.
Hide Your Passwords and Don’t Share Them
Don’t write passwords down and leave them somewhere they can be easily found. Hide them so only you know where to look. Keep passwords to yourself, and don’t give them out to anyone.
Be Aware
If you hear on the news that a site where you have an account with has been hacked, change your password for that site, and any other site that you used that same password for.
Have a Plan
Making sure your passwords are unique helps protect your accounts, but it can also be confusing. Be sure to create passwords that can’t be easily hacked, but don’t make them impossible for you to remember. It’s also recommended that you set up password recovery options for your accounts, so that if you do forget a password you’ll be able to reset it.
It’s time to fortify your online defenses with strong passwords.
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