I don’t know about you, but I have more passwords than shoes (and that’s saying a lot coming from a girl). Every time I sign up for something- whether it be an email, social network, banking account, Pandora account, you name it; a password is needed.
But then, after so many passwords out there you start to forget which one goes to which (at least I do). A lot of people keep the same one for all the accounts they have. I know it’s important to switch it up- because if one does get hacked then everything could get hacked. Longer, more complicated passwords are a good idea. What’s even better is if you know a different language, and can come up with something not everyone knows. And of course, we have to add at least a few numbers and special characters in there. Then remember all of them! I guess it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to write them all down in a safe place; such as a journal or personal agenda. It’s quite the job keeping track of them all. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it.
And then I realize I’m just being a lazy American who can’t remember a few more simple words of phrases that could possibly save an entire account or computer. Viruses are another huge reason why people need to keep strong passwords. Hackers are one thing, but the viruses they install in our computers are a nightmare. I recently had a scare with my yahoo account. A few glitches started to take place in my computer and the first thing I did was change all my passwords. I believe it was my Yahoo account that started the problem (I’ve had problems with it before). I have learned that it’s extremely important to log out completely when finished. I was in the bad habit of leaving my email account open as I surfed the web on other screens. And you should especially do your best not to check your email or banking accounts on any public computer.
So just a heads up to the people out there who think the same simple password; such as your birthday, middle name, or mother’s maiden name is good enough- think again. People hack passwords all the time- don’t think you’re the special one!
Definitely an issue i have come up against as well. I always think about keeping the passwords in a safe place too, but then I remember how many people make a list of their passwords in a program on their computers, on a sticky-note app or a notepad app on their phones and start thinking about who has access to those programs on the back end of the programming. I mean if companies can remote access your computer and phone with a couple taps at the keyboard, imagine what someone with lower morals could get at the same way.