World Password Day

Today is World Password Day! While we are all doing some spring cleaning, we thought this may be a good time to tidy up old passwords and start using some new ones!

Tidying up passwords – where to start?

You may want to have a think about the passwords that you use for sites that you frequently visit.

Do you use the same password for multiple websites? You would be one of 52% of people that do this, despite the fact that it is a dangerous practice. When you use the same password and email address on multiple sites, it only takes one of those websites to become compromised for hackers to have access to all of your accounts. Using a secure, unique password for every website is best practice.

Identify all of the accounts that use the same password and get ready to come up with some new ones!

Create new, unique and secure passwords for your accounts

Now that you are ready to come up with new passwords, you may want to make sure that they are secure.

The National Cyber Security Centre recommend that you use three random words to avoid creating a password that is easy to guess. So just string them together like ‘computerapplewater’. You may then need to add a number or special character as a site requires.

You could even check out this password checker tool that will tell you how easily guessed your password is, and checks your input against previous data breaches.

Use a password manager to help you remember unique passwords

Now that you’ve created some unique and strong passwords, you may have trouble remembering them all… a password manager can help you with that!

A password manager acts as a secure vault for all of your passwords and remembers them for you so you don’t have to. They often come with browser extensions and mobile apps that can automatically fill your passwords for you.

We wrote a blog post about password managers before that will help you pick the right one to suit your needs

Remember to never share your passwords with anyone

Once you have your new passwords changed on your accounts, remember that a password is only secure while it remains a secret.

There are many phishing scams designed to steal your password, so be vigilant and don’t give anyone your password when they ask for it by email or ask you to confirm it via a link.