Tech Wizard logoThe Tech Wizard LogoTech Wizard logoTech Wizard logo
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
    • GROUP CLASSES
    • CYBERSMART MANAGING MONEY ONLINE
    • CYBERSMART SECURITY TRAINING
    • PRIVATE CLASSES
    • MEMBERSHIP
  • CALENDAR
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
  • SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Book A Class
✕
Streaming Music
Finding Your Tunes with Streaming Music Services
January 2, 2019
Mobile Banking at home
Mobilize Your Money with Mobile Banking
May 10, 2019

Protect Your Online Identity with Passwords

Online Security - Passwords

Unfortunately, online security intrusions are becoming more commonplace in today’s world and boomer women, just like everybody else, need to consider the safety of their online identity.

Most often it’s not something you do wrong, but something your doctor, insurance company, government agency, social media service, or credit card company do wrong that results in a data breach, exposing your personal information to the dark web.

Building Better Passwords

Most folks are wary of articles such as this because they cling to the belief that they should hold all their passwords in their heads. They also don’t want to be bothered to learn what it takes to be secure.

It’s an outdated notion to think you should be able to remember passwords. Beyond that, it is just plain not safe to do so because it means you aren’t composing your passwords to meet the security needs of today’s world.

The best way to keep your data safe is by using complex passwords, that are different for every online account you have. “Complex” means a random string of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols that are at least 12 characters.

Hackers are not randomly guessing what your passwords are; they have very sophisticated algorithms that are continually working on hacking online accounts. It isn’t easy to outsmart them, but there are ways to protect yourself.

Three Password No-No’s

You should be aware that there are certain password practices you should stay away from.

Unique Passwords
Never reuse a password between multiple accounts. Every password should be unique, meaning you can’t use milothedog1, milothedog2, 2milothedog, etc.

No Word Passwords
Never use a password which contains words that are in the dictionary. Hackers load their programs with dictionaries, including slang dictionaries, urban dictionary, and the scrabble dictionaries. If whole words are used in a password, it can be hacked.

Scrap Word Combinations
Never use a combination of words like badgersaremycollegemascotandilovewisconsin. Even though it’s long and hard for the human eye to decipher, it’s made up of simple words in the dictionary.

No doubt, this advice runs contrary to others who claim that long, random strings of words are a good tactic. I disagree wholeheartedly, and the security experts I respect concur.

Passwords should be randomly created (so that it isn’t memorable) and not associated with things in your life.

Put Your Passwords in a Vault

If you aren’t supposed to be able to remember your passwords what is the best way to manage them? The answer is a password management app.

I am always getting the question: “Can’t the hackers just break into those apps too?”

Here again, the surety of such an app will depend on your overall security. Is your device protected by a long passcode (eight or more digits) or a complex password to thwart attacks? Is the password used to open the password management app secure, following the parameters discussed above?

Password management apps are engineered like a vault. They are built for resistance to hacking behavior and continuously updated with the newest measures to combat the bad guys. If they were easily breached, they wouldn’t be in business or earn recommendations from the security experts.

I would compare these apps to banks. We keep our money stored in banks because we trust that they will keep it safe. Although nothing is 100% perfect, it’s your best option for keeping your valuables protected.

Five Benefits of Using a Password Manager

  1. They harass you and help you change passwords if multiple accounts use the same password.
  2. They offer a random password generator tool that creates complex passwords for you.
  3. They alert you if a data breach occurs that may impact any account stored in the app.
  4. They are built to work interactively with browsers and apps to seamlessly fill in credentials (your username and password).
  5. The data can be synchronized in the cloud to ensure you have your passwords on every device you use.

A couple of the top password managers, 1Password and LastPass, are both worth checking out. I highly encourage you to take the time to do your research and start using something to protect your data and identity.

(This article was originally posted on Sixty and Me)

Share
0

Related posts

Couple Shopping Online
June 25, 2020

Tips for Safer Online Shopping


Read more
Smart speaker security
February 14, 2020

Are Your Smart Home Devices Vulnerable?


Read more
Grandparents and technology
November 12, 2019

Teaching Your Grandchildren About Online Safety


Read more

Comments are closed.

The Tech Wizard

12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90025
P: 888.332.2299
E: info@thetechwizard.com

DOWNLOAD THE TECH WIZARD MEDIA KIT

Tech Tips in your Inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to receive weekly tech tips and hear about tech learning opportunities.

Book your free 30-minute session
©2023 The Tech Wizard. All rights reserved.
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Book A Class
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Book A Class
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT