I thought I would do this thread since online shopping is at its yearly peak. We all know how important it is to have a strong password but few of us really know what exactly constitutes a "strong password" so I'm here to help!
- Always use the maximum number of characters allowed
- Use varied characters such as mixing letters, numbers and symbols as allowed
- Never enter your password for Service A if asked by Service B (Unless you're sure it's a reliable 3rd party service ie Instagram for Facebook)
- Don't use the same password for your bank that you use for your email.
But how much risk is my password really at? There's a way you can find that out! You can use your exact password or something similar if you want to follow their recommendations. If your actual password is "Cat2016" enter "Bat2016" and the result will be nearly the same. There are a lot of password checkers out there but Kaspersky is a trusted site so I'm going with this one.
My near-universal password would take the average computer 12 days to hack. Which inspired me to make some changes. So I've gone around and changed a lot of my accounts to something that is much more secure.
Is your password as bad as mine once was? There are several ways to help manage passwords.
- Apple will offer to create and save passwords so you can make them complex without having to remember
- Google Chrome will backup your passwords and can be synced to multiple computers as long as you sign in with your Google credentials
- 1Password stores all of your passwords and protects them with a Master Passcode and is available for iOS, Android and PC.
Many sites allow you to protect your account even if somebody knows your password. It's called Two Factor Authentication or Two Step Authentication. Two Factor is more secure than Two Step but both will hinder unwanted access so at least chose Two Step if Two Factor isn't available.
Here's how to do it for your Apple ID
Here's how to do it for your Google Account
What that entails is if somebody signs into your account, they'll let you know on a separate device to approve the log in. For example, if somebody tries to log into my Apple account, they'll have to select a device to send a code to. Since I have possession of my devices, I'll receive the notification and deny the log in. Knowing my email and password simply isn't enough to gain access.
I realize that this is a lot of information to take in, so if you have any questions or need anything clarified, feel free to ask! If I don't know the answer to your question I am more than happy to help you find it.
and google was being a bitch with their recovery option, thank god I got back in or that would be 1200 dollars wasted.
