Passwords

Intro

Passwords are critical to your safety. Take whatever it costs to manage them well!

IDEAS

Despite all their weaknesses, it looks as if passwords will stay for the foreseeable future. These are couple of steps people can take to strengthen their passwords so that it is less likely hackers can break into their accounts.

  • Perhaps the most important step is to not re-use the same password across different websites.
  • It is convenient only having one password, but this means that if someone guesses, or steals one of your passwords, they can then use that to gain access to any of your other accounts.
  • Using a password manager can help create and remember all the different passwords.
  • Failing that, even writing passwords down can be good in some cases (just don’t leave your notebook lying around).
  • The second step is to take advantage of two factor authentication (2FA) wherever it is available.
  • For many sites that offer this service, in addition to entering username and password, it will send a code via text message to your phone which will need to be entered.
  • Third, and finally, people should be wary of the scams which try to steal their passwords.
  • For example, receiving an email with a link from a large provider such as Microsoft, Amazon, or Apple, and asking people to re-enter their username and password or risk having their account frozen.
  • People should never click on such links in emails, and only navigate manually to any sites they wish to visit if they need to log onto their accounts.

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