Typically we use passwords that are easy to remember. This can be a generic word like “password”, a favorite sports team, or we use some variation of the same password for every account that we have. This can make life easy, right? It’s something you’ll never forget, don’t have to write it down, and who cares about getting into your accounts anyway?

Well, more people than you think. Cyber attacks are one of the top three risks we face every day and the chances of your information getting breached is 1 in every 4 attacks. These attacks happen at an estimated once every 39 seconds. Today, we are going to give you some tips on how to make sure you are not one of those statistics. 

Password Managers 

Using a password manager is something that can always ensure that you have a secure password. A password manager will help generate, store, and remember your passwords for you.This will assure that your accounts are extremely difficult to access if anyone but you is trying to log in. This may take some time to implement and we understand that. We recommend starting with high priority accounts like banking and professional accounts.

Password managers can cost nothing at all and for secure and trusted password managers, click here. Your devices may already come with password managers built in. For example, Apple users have access to iCloud Keychain which is a free password manager that comes preinstalled on your IOS devices. 

There are more secure password managers, but they require payment. We recommend this to those that want to enjoy some premium features (read this article for more). 

Use a Strong Master Password 

A master password is the one you will use to access your password manager. This is key to making sure your accounts are secure. One secure thing to do is use a passphrase. This is a phrase that’s easy to remember, but you abbreviate or use your own kind of “code” to memorize it. An example of this would be using the phrase “To be, or not to be, that is the question – William Shakespeare”. Instead of just using this as a password you could use “2BorN2B_tHATisThe?” (Do not use this specific one, as it is a common example). This will make your password easy to remember, but difficult to guess. 

2 Factor Authentication

This is a tool that is completely separate from your password manager. It is a great tool that will help with your account security. Two factor authentication will alert you when one of your accounts is being accessed. Once you are alerted, you will have to verify the access into the account. This can be a face identification or fingerprint on your phone or a text message with a code. Some password managers offer two factor authentication, but this can be essential to securing all of your accounts. 

All of these tips have been designed in order to help you make sure your accounts are secure and protected at all times. Use them to make sure that your information is always locked down and you are the only person that is able to access it.