Your Password isn't as Safe as you Think!

 I get it. Remembering a ton of passwords for all the required online programs and digital devices is overwhelming. You enter a password to get into your phone, you enter a password to get into your email, you enter a password to turn on your computer, you enter a password to sit down and watch netflix, you enter a password to check your bank account, and on and on and on.

Passwords are not going away any time soon. So you will have to live with them and learn to use them in a safe and secure way in order to keep your personal information safe. Back in the day, it used to be so easy to use a single word as a password since there weren't any rules regarding length or using numbers or symbols. All you needed was a word you could remember like "toaster" or "yellow". Now, when you enter that password, the program tells you its weak and requires you to add a number, a symbol, a capital letter, and possibly the footprint of your first born. I'm joking! Kind of.

Using the same password for multiple programs isn't just unsafe, its down right dangerous. If they (the dark web, dangerous evil doers) get ahold of your single password, they can then try it on any account they come across. And who knows, those books you created on Shutterfly back when the kids were tiny babies? Now being printed in Istanbul for $10 a piece to anyone who wants one! 

What can you do about it? You can change your password habits. The very first habit we need to change is how you have one password for everything. The only time that situation is possible is if you work for a high security clearance company that requires a Single Sign On (SSO) and an external fob to log in to the system, and even then, that password changes every few hours. I'm guessing you're more of an average Joe user. So lets work on that.

Start with those passwords I used at the top: toaster and yellow. Lets adapt those to create some pretty safe passwords (these are not actual passwords I use, I'm simply showing you a technique. Please apply these techniques to your own passwords)

toaster - simple, easy to remember, and easy to attack with a dictionary program commonly used by hackers

Toaster - no different

To@ster! - a little better

To@ster!1982 - even better

To@ster!1982j3lly - best

What you need to do is come up with a password that actually combines words you will remember called a "password phrase" and change letters into symbols and add a few numbers you will remember. Make it something at least 12-15 characters long and you're guaranteed to have it secure.

Remember: To@ster! and To@ster!! are THE SAME. Just because you add an exclamation point or an asterisk doesn't mean its a different password.

The most important password you need to have secure is your email password. Your email is your most personal and detailed information and if someone gets into your inbox, they can get out to almost anywhere else. Use a strong 12-16 character password with phrases and numbers mixed together to create a highly secure password.

Now what can you do when you have all these mega-secure passwords but you can't remember them all? Use a password manager! I create a post last year about this very issue. Here's a link to my most trusted password managers. Use the one that works best for you:

Password Keeper Apps I Recommend

Change your passwords. Think of it as inviting strangers into your bedroom. Would you allow someone off the street to come sit in your bedroom and search through your stuff? If not, then change your passwords. Use this new year as a way to create a new, more secure you!

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