Lock It Down: 4 Password Protection Tips You Need to Know
In the world of cybersecurity, your password is like the key to your digital kingdom—would you want that key to be as flimsy as your toddler’s toy keys? Yet, so many of us rely on weak, reused passwords like “123456” or (gasp) “password” to protect our most sensitive information. If that sounds familiar, it’s time for a password makeover!
Here’s the good news: building stronger defenses doesn’t mean memorizing a hundred impossible combinations. By using unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), crafting clever passphrases, and investing in a password manager, you can lock down your accounts without locking yourself out. In this post, we’ll show you how to turn your password habits from “meh” to mighty. Let’s secure your digital life—one smart step at a time!
Use Unique Passwords
Make sure you do not use the same password for multiple services. All it takes is for one of those sites to have a data breach and any other service that you have the same password for would also be compromised. I suspect most people who have their email “hacked” is really the result of a data breach and a shared password.
Use Multifactor Authentication
Whenever possible you should always add Multifactor Authentication to your accounts. Most services these days have support for it, and it is a quick and easy way to protect your accounts.
Use Pass Phrases
When it comes to creating secure passwords, length is far more important than complexity. Instead of trying to remember something like “HT5$kleb8” you could use a line from a favorite song like “Never gonna give you up.” You may need to add a number to it to meet the password requirements but that will still be something easy to remember but hard for an attacker to guess.
Use a Password Manager
We all have way more passwords than we can easily keep track of these days. Using a password manager is a great way to store them. We have Password Safe installed for use here at work but there are also great options out there for your phone or personal devices as well.