Passwords, passwords, everywhere! Nearly every company you interact with online these days requires a password. But how can you keep up with them all and still be safe? There are two practices that – when implemented – will keep your accounts reasonably secure. The first is to use unique passwords. “Groan!” I hear you saying. I know, I know…but unique passwords are important, even more so than complex passwords (although both are a good idea). Here’s why: let’s say you use “MyDogsName123” as your password for all accounts, and Company A suffers a data breach. Once your password is known to criminals they aren’t going to try to login as you with Company A – that business (should have) already reset all passwords in the wake of the breach. The saavy criminal is going to test if “MyDogsName123” is your password for Company B and on other sites, particularly financial sites. In this way, a criminal could gain access to your Company B account without that business or your personal computer ever being breached! The second best practice is to enable Two/Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA or MFA). This is the additional security layer that typically texts you a code during an attempt to sign-on. The idea is that a criminal is highly unlikely to know your password AND have possession of your cell phone. Each website is different, but you typically enable 2FA by logging in and accessing your account preferences. If you’d like assistance with this, feel free to reach out to me. And next month be sure to look for my tips about password manager programs!
