April 10, 2014
Hey people of the Internet!
Has your online info been compromised? Updating your most important passwords should be making it’s way to the top of your “To-do list”. There has been some talk over a security breach that has captured people’s log-in information from some of the internet’s most popular websites and web-services. The threat is known as the “HeartBleed Bug”. It has been the cause of one of the highest/most threatening breaches to companies such as Gmail, Facebook, Pinterest, etc… For more information on what exactly “HeartBleed Bug” is and how it effects you, I recommend checking out this article here:
http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected
Raise your hand if you are guilty of one of the following password offensives.
- My Password is my Birthdate!
- I use the same Password for everything I log into!
- I’ve been using the same Password for as long as I can remember!
These are just a few examples of poorly created passwords being used to protect your most private online information. Each of these examples are considered to be threats to your online security and should be changed right away.
Here are a few suggestions to make sure that your passwords are safe, secure, and will be able to keep your information/privacy for your eyes only.
1. NEVER use personal information in a password.
Since the dawn of social media, It has become way easier to come across personal identifiable information like: birth dates, cities you live in, maiden names, etc…. You should think twice when sharing personal identifiable information online. You never know who could be looking you up or what they are trying to find out. Make sure that you never use any personal identifiable information, that is easily attainable by a simple online search, for your most important passwords.
2. KEEP your passwords unique.
I know it seems very convenient to keep all of your passwords the same so you always remember what they are… but that is another example of what not to do when it comes to keeping your passwords safe. If someone were to find out this password from just one unsecured source, this person could gain access to all of any site that has the same log in information.
3. UPDATE your most important passwords
Some large companies insist that you must change your log-in password every 60-90 days to be safe and secure. That may be a little extreme for most websites, although I do think that perhaps every 6 months or so would be ideal to change any highly confidential information.
I hope this article has enlightened you how to choose safer passwords for the next time you need to update your password.
Categorized in: Google
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