Tips to Protect Your Online Passwords
| Posted in Fraud Prevention, Bank Blogs
From your bank accounts and social media to your streaming and cellphone services, your digital life is packed with passwords. And while managing your accounts and services online can make life more convenient, it can also put your personal and financial information at risk, especially if you don’t manage your passwords properly.
Here are some important password tips to help protect you.
- Create unique passwords for all your online accounts. Having just one or a few passwords for multiple online accounts can put you at greater risk if your password is compromised.
- Never use personal information, such as your birthday, the name of your dog, or street address.
- Create long passwords between 12 and 14 characters that combine letters, numbers, and symbols. Also, be sure to mix uppercase and lowercase letters.
- Don’t use successive strings of characters or numbers, such as “ABCDE” or “12345.”
- Regularly change your passwords every month.
- Never share your passwords or write them down where others can see them.
A tool to help you create and manage your passwords
Finding it hard to keep track of multiple passwords? There’s a tool that can help with that: a password manager. They offer one secure, encrypted place to store all your passwords. A password manager can also create strong passwords on your behalf.
Protect yourself with two-factor authentication
For an added level of protection, you can enable two-factor authentication on your online accounts. Two-factor authentication is another way to verify your identity beyond just entering your user ID and password. For example, after you log in with your password, you may be asked to provide a six-digit code that’s emailed or texted to you to verify your identity.
Other ways to protect yourself online
Cyberthieves are always working to steal the information of unsuspecting victims. Here are some additional measures you can take to protect yourself:
- Download software updates on all your devices, such as your smartphone, tablets, and computers.
- Use a virtual private network (VPN) instead of public WiFi.
- Be wary of suspicious “phishing” emails, texts, or phone calls that ask you to send money, click on a link, or provide personal information.
- Install anti-virus software on your devices.
There’s no question that managing your money and other aspects of your life online can save you time, but it does put you at risk of cybertheft. Creating strong passwords and protecting your devices can go a long way to keeping you and your digital life secure.