To ensure maximum security and protection online, you can’t use your last name and birth year as your password—especially not for every website or account you use. These days, you need a strong password strategy to keep your sensitive information safe. This post will go over how to keep your passwords secure, from start to finish.
Creating a Strong Password
- Don’t use personal information: Don’t use names of pets, family members, birthdays, or addresses when creating your password.
- Don’t use real, common words: Nicknames, favorite team names, where you went to college, and so on, are also identifiable and not secure. Instead, use a mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters. The more you use variable character types, the harder your password will be for hackers to figure out.
- Use long passwords: The more characters your passwords have, the better—longer passwords are more challenging to crack. For optimal security, aim for at least 10 characters.
- Change passwords regularly: You are always at risk of a data breach, so it’s crucial to change your passwords regularly to deter hardworking cyber criminals..
- Don’t write out your passwords: Storing your passwords in a note on your iPhone called “passwords” will not cut it these days. Also, avoid writing your passwords on physical notepads, paper, and receipts that you could lose or that someone could discover easily. Instead, store your password in an encrypted password manager.
Keeping Your Passwords Secure
Once you’ve created a strong password, you need to find a secure place to store it. After all, it would be nearly impossible to remember passwords like “ahsj1$amsjd#*” for every account you have. Here’s what we recommend:
Your Browser
Storing your passwords in your browser is convenient for quick online logins. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari all have easy-to-use, secure password storage options. Even more convenient, you can sync the browser-stored passwords across mobile and desktop devices for quick account access no matter which device you’re using.
1 Password
1Password is a popular and reputable password keeper. It also generates strong passwords for users, warns them when their passwords have leaked in a data breach, and has two-factor authentication capabilities. 1Password offers a family-sharing function that lets you manage passwords and other data like passport details across different users.
Last Pass
LastPass is another popular password manager that stores passwords, notes, payment details, and other sensitive information. It also suggests strong passwords.
NordPass
NordPass is relatively new on the password management scene. It covers all the basics along with password syncing across multiple platforms, note-storing, password generation, two-factor authentication, and much more. Currently, NordPass does not alert users if passwords have leaked in data breaches.
Creating and storing secure passwords requires a lot of work and maintenance. If you’re looking for a reputable IT company in Jacksonville to help protect your company’s sensitive data, contact Axiom today.
At Axiom, we take pride in helping businesses secure their data so they can operate smoothly and scale with ease. We also believe in educating our clients on best practices that let them make informed decisions. Let us help you keep your passwords secure!