Passwords — you probably type several every day. The 21st century has made passwords as ubiquitous as various household items such as fridges, desks, and lamps. This isn’t just conjecture either — studies show that the average user has over 100 passwords.
But if you run a business, you need to make sure you’re investing time into password protection. Password mistakes could cost you a security breach, which could cost you endless amounts of money, time, and stress.
If you’re worried about password management, you’ve come to the right place. This article will walk you through several password best practices to keep you and your company safe.
Use a Long Password
This one’s pretty straightforward. A hacker or hacking software will be able to track shorter passwords much easier than long ones. This is due to the fact that long passwords have a larger number of characters.
We recommend creating a password with a minimum of ten characters for maximum protection. If you can, however, shoot for around fifteen characters.
Stay Away From Personal Information
When creating a password, it’s tempting to use a piece of personal information — such as a birthday, address, or child’s name — since those bits of information are easy to remember. However, this is precisely why you shouldn’t use personal information.
If it’s easy for you to remember, it’s easy for a hacker to guess. No doubt, hackers are smarter than ever; they know the most common password trends. They’ll find out your personal information, and try plugging that into your password before they even try anything difficult.
Stay away from personal information if you care about dangers to your personal data.
Avoid Real Words
This one might be hard to hear for the same reason as personal information. Real words are easy to remember — they’re also easy to guess. Make up a random combination of numbers and letters and memorize it, for maximum security.
Don’t Write it Down
However, don’t expect to remember this complicated and difficult password by writing it down. Hackers can sift through your trash and easily find this bit of information. Then all it takes is plugging it into your username to steal your personal information.
Avoid These Passwords
Obviously, you’re going to want to stay away from the most popular passwords. A lot of people think they can get clever and come up with a trick to memorize their password — it’s not true. These ideas have been tried by many people before and will be tried by hackers again and again.
Prioritize Password Protection
In the 21st century, password protection is just as important as having a lock on your door or keeping your money in the bank. Hackers are smarter than ever, but by making use of these best practices, you’re far more likely to keep yourself safe and secure.
Never take any shortcuts when it comes to your personal information.
For more information, contact us today.
Pegasus Technologies is the IT Team for organizations that don’t need a full-time IT department. Our technology experts build you a technology plan to keep your business running at its best. We have offices in Kennett Square, PA, Media, PA, and Wayne, PA to provide better computer support and IT services to you.
