Atlantic Blog

Passwords. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them. You have a password for your phone, for your tablet, your debit card, social networks, your home Wi-Fi, your Netflix, and your online banking. Those are just personal accounts. For many, there are probably another 5 or 10 passwords to remember. If you include work passwords, then you understand why the most common password continues to be “123456”. By the way, the most common password is the worst password.

Cyber criminals love the lazy passwords. And, if you use the same password for multiple accounts then you have made their job of stealing your data that much easier. Stop using simple passwords is one of the 7 Tips to Avoid Identity Theft. Storing your passwords on your phone, tablet or computer will make you a hacker’s favorite person.

The best security practice is to have different passwords for all accounts. Don’t use your name or your address. Multiple characters is the key. A good password is considered to be 15 characters of arbitrary, numbers, letters and symbols. Unless you have an amazing memory, the passwords can be almost impossible to remember. 

An online password management system can help. LastPass, KeePass, Dashlane, 1Password, Roboform are some of the more popular on line systems. KeePass is a free and open-source password manager, primarily for Windows. The others charge a fee, ranging from less than $2 per month or a little more than $2 per month. With a password management system all you need to remember is one password.  Much easier.

If you still believe writing passwords on a piece of paper is a reliable system, then please make sure you are using strong passwords and keep your list in a secure location. Weak passwords leave you vulnerable. A stronger password should always be your first choice.

Using different passwords, on multiple accounts, with several characters is a better choice.

Best choice? If you have an online account that offers additional authentication tools, then use them. Whether it is biometrics, security keys or a unique one-time code through an app on your mobile device, authentication tools will add another layer of security.

The Atlantic Federal Credit Union website has additional online security tips.

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