Best Practices for Passwords

How many passwords do you have? At one point I remember the number became too large for me to count and the thought of keeping track of them all was daunting. But, like most people I just couldn’t find the time to do anything about it.

I’m not sure what exactly tipped the scales for me. We didn’t have a security breach or someone try to hack into our website, but we did start to get approached more frequently by people who weren’t as fortunate.

After some serious conversations with the team, we knew it was time to tighten things up and begin informing clients more purposefully about some of the dangers of not managing passwords more efficiently.

One of the number one ways websites and online accounts are compromised is through passwords. Below are some tips you can follow to make your passwords less vulnerable to compromise:

• Use a password manager application and let it generate and store your passwords
• Change your passwords every so often
• Avoid using the same password on all the sites you visit
• Do not use a word from the dictionary
• Avoid using names or slang terms
• Do not use anything that resembles your name (first, middle, or last) or any of your family members names or initials
• Use lowercase, uppercase, and keyboard characters in your password
• Do not login to websites on publicly shared computers
• Sending passwords via email (BIG NO NO)

Will implementing all the above completely eliminate the possibility of an intrusion? Probably not but it will definitely reduce your chances of a compromise.

What tips and practices do you have for keeping your passwords safe? Please comment below and share what you’ve learned.

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