How confident are you in the security of your passwords? Do you use the same ones on three or more of your accounts? Do you use your pet’s names, maiden name, or name of your street? If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, chances are you need to make some changes. According to research as many as 73% of all online accounts are set up with duplicated passwords, while 54% of those surveyed use five passwords across all of their accounts. Some of the worst password combinations used last year included 123456, 12345, password, and qwerty. Your password is one of the most important components of the online services we use every day. According to the knowledgeable experts at Advanced Private Investigator & Security of Fort Lauderdale Florida, you can improve your internet security by following these tips.
Tips to Improve the Security & Protect Your Online Passwords
Creating stronger passwords: Ideally your password should contain at least 10 to 15 characters including a combination of lower case and capital letters, special characters including $ & %, and numbers. If you are struggling to think of something, you are not alone. There are a number of free sites available to help you generate a password or you can get creative with your favorite phase and replace letters with numbers for example the little mermaid, could instead become #1ittl3M3rmaid*
Avoiding Passwords that Contain Information Easily Found Online: One of the most important components of a strong password is using information that no one can figure out by browsing your social media accounts. For example, if you are constantly posting about your dog named Buster, don’t make your password Buster_2013. An important rule of thumb is to consider the content of the information that you are using. Never use a password associated with a sport that you are passionately vocal about on social media. The same applies to security questions, especially if your social media accounts contain the high school or college you attended. Avoid security questions such as “What was the name of your college mascot?”
Use Different Passwords for Everything: It may be time consuming but this is one step that you should never skip. You need to make sure you use a different password for every one of your accounts. For example if you use a password to download craft projects, you may not think it’s very important, but if you use the same password to protect your banking information, you could be in for a very rude awakening when you’re financial and personal lives are intruded upon. If you find it difficult to remember so many different passwords there are options such as a password manager app to help you keep everything in order. Keeping a list of your passwords written down is not necessarily a terrible thing as long as you keep them secure in a safety deposit box or safe.
Avoid Linking Your Online Accounts: A linked account is when you create a new account and you are given the option to link the account to your email login. Avoid this at all costs and create a new one instead. While a linked account may be convenient, it comes at a price. Every time you log into your account, you are allowing the website access to at least some of your data whether you realize it or not. Even information that appears innocent may make it easy for someone to steal your identity if your account is hacked.
Utilize Two or Multi-factor Authentication to Protect Your Accounts: Use multi-factor authentication for your email account. By enabling this setting you are adding a layer of security to authenticate the app to secure your logon process. This is particularly important with your email accounts, especially the one where your passwords resets are sent. Your email contains information about you that you may not even realize such as your address, medical information, and utility information among other things. Never change your password when using a public kiosk or public Wi-Fi where viruses or malware may be waiting to infect your computer and steal any information that you type.
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