In a time when most of our lives are lived on the Internet and our precious information is floating through the web, it is imperative that you and your personal information stay protected. One of the easiest ways to protect your information online is to make sure your passwords are strong and impenetrable. When creating passwords for online banking, social media, email and other personal accounts, be mindful of the following:
- Do not use the same password for more than one portal.
- Do not create a password that contains common knowledge about yourself like birthdays or favorite color.
- Do not write your passwords down in an easily accessible area where they can be found and used.
Passwords that keep your personal information safe must be complex, and difficult for someone to guess. By using different passwords for every account, you make it more difficult for thieves to break into your accounts and steal funds or commit identity theft.
Apply the following tips to create strong passwords.
1. Use Complex Passwords that are Difficult to Guess
Most websites require a strong password made up of lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special characters. Make your passwords as complex as you can—the more challenging to guess, the better.
2. Revamp Old Passwords
If you are someone that has a hard time coming up with complex passwords, take your simplified passwords and add to them to make them stronger. For example, the simple weak password: Susan123 could be revamped into: Su$aN123* for more strength. As long as Susan isn’t your name. Please don’t use your name.
3. Change Your Password Twice a Year
Once you understand how to create a strong password, don’t keep the same strong password on your account forever. Hackers are sneaky and resourceful, and you don’t want to make it easy for them to steal from you. Changing your password twice a year allows you to use strong passwords, while not changing them so often that you’re likely to forget.
4. Make Your Passwords Memorable for Yourself
A common reason some avoid using strong, complex passwords is that they are easier to forget. While most websites have a reset option, it can be a hassle to constantly use it. Make your password memorable and relatable to what it is protecting. For example:
- Bank account password: M0neYM@tt3r$
- Social media account: s3Lfi3ti*Me
By making your passwords relatable to what you are logging into, you are more likely to remember them even though they are still complex.
5. Retire Passwords
After rotating your passwords every six months for a while, it will come a time that you have to retire a password you have used multiple times. Password possibilities are infinite, so there is no reason to hold on to passwords once you change them.
Having a complex, impenetrable password will help keep your accounts strong and keep hackers at bay. However, remember that strong passwords will not protect you alone from identity theft. Services like LifeLock offer extra online protection that you may not have even thought of like black market website surveillance and lost wallet protection.
