It’s that time again to talk about passwords and remind everyone on the importance of password safety!
Every week we hear new stories of identities being stolen and Facebook accounts being hacked. There are some very simple ways to protect yourself and your organization from hacked accounts.
Don't Use Common Passwords
10 most common passwords:
- 123456
- 123456789
- qwerty
- 12345678
- 111111
- 1234567890
- 1234567
- password
- 123123
- 987654321
Make sure to check with your staff and make sure that no one is using any of these common passwords. Passwords should include numbers, uppercase letters, lower case letters, and symbols. Lastly, a 12 character minimum is recommended.
No sticky notes!
Please stop writing your passwords on a sticky note next to your computer…
Here is a good tool for your business - LastPass: We recommend LastPass to all of our clients. It’s a password management service that stores encrypted passwords in private accounts. LastPass is standard with a web interface, but also includes plugins for many web browsers and apps for many smartphones.
Change your passwords every 90 days
Passwords need to be changed often to keep hackers from guessing your password. Also, don’t repeat old passwords from the last year.
Create passwords that are complex, but easy to remember
How? Think of a phrase that you will remember such as “my kids names are jane and jack doe 2003 2008”
Your password is: mknaJ&JD20032008
Never give your password to anyone else
Sounds obvious, but when you are on the phone with a customer service rep, you should never have to give them your password. They should have adequate access to your account/info from an admin perspective to service you.
Mavidea IT Clients
If you need help putting together a password policy for your staff, need help communicating good passwords, and/or help setting up LastPass for your office - please give us a call! We can help you with these tasks.
