There is a lot of talk about identity theft these days, and for good reason. Thieves today can make a fortune and never leave their computer or risk their safety. The reality is that business today is done online. That will not change. How do you protect your important information?
There is an easy first step you can do today that costs you nothing. Upgrade your password strength! The most commonly used password is—password! People use their birthday, address, name and other information that is readily available online to anyone who cares to look. Thieves have advanced programs that can run through every word in the English language in seconds and stop on the one you selected for your password, and they are in.
What is the solution? Be creative, but not complicated. Include symbol$ and num6ers and a combination of UPPER and lower case letters to make your password stronger. Use phrases to create acronyms that will be easy for you to remember. Let me illustrate.
Let’s say your favorite singer is Alicia Keys. You might say, “My favorite singer is Alicia Keys!” Using symbols you could make a password Mf$i@K!. By substituting the $ for s and @ for A you have made a powerful password that would be very difficult to hack. Another tool is inserting numbers in place of letters. Take the phrase, “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere:)” That could be “150c$w:)!” That is another strong password.
You know the things that will be easy for you to remember. Use them to guard your information. Our team has used the password manager Roboform for years. It is inexpensive and we only have to remember one master password. It manages the rest for us.
It is your information. Be careful with it.