Are Your Passwords Protected?

Are you still writing your passwords on note pads or scrap pieces of paper? Worse yet, are you saving passwords in your web browser so anyone who has access to your computer can also access your accounts?

Passwords were invented to protect our accounts from being hacked. But how can we protect our passwords from being discovered? In this ever changing, technological world we live in, it’s time to take password security seriously. Especially since many people are still using their favorite color, their pets name, or the date they were born as their password. To make matters worse, they often use this same, easy to hack password for every account they have.

Don’t be a cyber-victim. Follow these two simple, yet powerful steps to protect your passwords.

First, use strong passwords. It takes a hacker less than 4 hours to crack a simple 6 digit password. Conversely, to break a 10 character password that uses letters, numbers, and symbols, such as “%ZBGbv]8g?”, it would take 289,217 years.
Of course, the problem with complex passwords is that they’re impossible to remember. So for most, the solution is to save that complex password in their web browser, which is a big No-No. Why? Because anyone with access to your computer also has access to your accounts. And what happens when you’re using a different computer? This brings us to the next simple step.

Second, use a password manager. A password manager does exactly what it sounds like. It remembers all of your passwords (no matter how complex) so you don’t have to. The password manager I recommend is “LastPass”. LastPass is accessible from any computer or mobile device and uses high level encryption to safely store your passwords. It also suggests complex passwords for you when opening a new account or when you’re simply changing an existing password. Best of all, it’s completely free to use. To learn more, visit LastPass.com.