Change your passwords
When was the last time you changed your passwords? Despite increasingly alarming odds of being hacked, most people do not take even the most basic precautions to insure that their information remains private – creating and maintaining strong passwords. Why? We, as humans subconsciously analyze threats by the perceived severity of the threat, the probability of the threat occurring, our own ability to deter the threat, and the efficacy of our actions.
It is easy for us to recognize physical threats. Say you’re out working in the garden and pick up a bunch of leaves that happen to be hiding a large snake. Instinctively you throw the snake into the air and start screaming like a school girl. Problem identified – problem solved.
But what about threats in the virtual world? They are not tangible and are not easily understood. Most people feel like they do not possess the skills to adequately protect their online information. But we – you do…
When was the last time you changed your online passwords? Your first line of defense against hackers is your password. Changing your passwords is quick, easy and effective. Here are some tips for creating secure passwords. (You may already know what I am about to tell you, but you have you taken action?)
- Make your passwords at least eight characters in length
- Use uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters such as &@^
- Use a password manager such as Dashlane (www.dashlane.com) to keep track of your passwords
- Create complex passwords that can be remembered easily such as 2eye&Miami. Use mnemonic devices such a phrase, activity, vacation spot to personalize your password
- If you access password protected apps or sites via your smartphone create passwords that are easy to type on a phone keyboard such as DATe2015& (letters are on main keypad screen, numbers and “&” on next screen)
- Use a different password for each site
- Don’t use personally identifiable information in your password such as your address or previous address
- When selecting security questions for password recovery or additional verification, do not use information that can be obtained via social media such as Facebook
Most commonly guessed passwords:
123456
password
12345
qwerty
baseball
football
monkey
123abc
dragon
11111111
access
shadow
Michael
