Want a Free Insurance Policy for the New Year?

February 1st was National Change Your Password Day. Did you participate?
If you are using the password 1234, 12345678 or simply the word password, then you might want to make a change-and I would recommend doing it pretty quickly. These were the top 3 passwords used in 2013 as reported by SplashData, a password management company.

What are some things you can do to insure yourself from unwanted hackers looking to access your cyber accounts?

  • Use 8 or more characters for your password. The more characters you use the better.
  • Use a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols/punctuation.
  • Try creating a phrase and then using the first or last letter of that phrase. For example: This year, 2014, I am going to get organized! (Ty,2014,Iagtgo!)
  • Create similar but slightly altered passwords for different sites so they are easy to remember, but not all the same.

Avoid using any personal information in your passwords. This makes it easier for someone to crack your codes. And never use your account number as part of your password.

Use that creative mind and generate some new passwords for 2014! It is a great, free insurance policy for the New Year.

Jenny Power, Absolutely Organized, LLC