Passwords have become part of everyday life in the Internet. You need passwords for banking, email access, e-commerce, social media, and most websites where your private data may be stored or tracked. So how do you make sure you have set up your accounts with secure passwords that you can actually remember?
Here are some quick tips to create secure passwords:
1. Make sure the password isn’t simply “password”
Come up with a password that can’t be easily guessed (especially by people who know you). Don’t use a family member’s or pet’s name. Also stay away from using birth dates, anniversaries, or house numbers in your password.
2. Unleash your creative side
Add some complexity to your password. Most systems require a minimum of 6 characters, but the longer and more complex the password, the less likely it is to be guessed. A combination of words and numbers is usually a good idea.
3. Upgrade that sticky note
If you have a lot of passwords to remember, instead of writing them all down on a sticky note, try using a secure password vault tool. 1Password, KeePass, Password Safe or LastPass are all built to store passwords safely. These tools range in features and price, but they allow you to have one master password that will unlock your vault of usernames and passwords to other systems you regularly access. Just remember the information stored is only as secure as the password and security protecting it.