About passwords

About passwords

Here are a few to consider:

Don’t use the same password on multiple websites or email accounts.

Don’t use dictionary words in your password.

Don’t use your name in your password.

Don’t use your phone number in your password.

Do use as many different types of characters (letters, numbers and punctuation) as possible in a password.

Do use a combination of all character types as well as a minimum of eight characters to develop a stronger password

Do understand the strength of your password. Many companies include a password strength indicator that displays as you set up your password. If one isn’t present, a resource like GRC enables you to test the strength of a password.

Do change your passwords regularly, using the sensitivity of the content as your gauge to frequency.

Best ways to remember your passwords

Keeping track of passwords for the rising number of online activities can be no simple task. Here’s a small sampling of strategies for remembering passwords.

Password Genres: One method I heard several times was password genres. Depending on the bucket of your life that the online source is related, there’s an associated password convention for it. Interesting, but still risky.

Password Management Tools: Tools like lastpass offer password management which runs across all platforms and all browsers. Using a management tool allows you to simply remember your one master password rather than the multitude of individual ones.

Train your Brain: Luminosity is a new app that boasts improvements in memory after regular use. I’ve suddenly been seeing ads for the app in multiple venues so I downloaded and have been toying around with it. While I can’t guarantee it’s going to help you to remember all your passwords, playing games has been found to keep your brain nimble and help ward off memory loss while having some fun.

What other strategies have you used to manage your passwords?

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