Keeping your private information protected by passwords is as difficult as it’s ever been. Not only are hackers breaking their way into password protected places like Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular sites, but now they’re especially motivated to do so. Why? Because selling your information can make them a ton of money.
Keeping your passwords up to date and frequently upgraded is a challenge. After all, who wants to re-memorize a password after they created a ‘new’ one the month prior? While it is a little work, it’s work that’s vitally important if you want to maintain a measure of privacy.
Here are five things you can do to keep your accounts safe from password hackers:
- Change your passwords! If you’re using the same password for multiple websites or services, then you’re living online with a giant target on your back. Creating strong and unique passwords are necessary in order to stay secure.
- Take advantage of two-factor authentication – Facebook uses something similar where you have to enter a passcode from both your mobile and standard devices. Other giants like Twitter, Google and Yahoo are also doing the same thing. Yes –it’s another hoop you have to jump through when updating your password–but an important one.
- Keep your anti-virus software up to date! Always be proactive in terms of maintaining and monitoring your anti-virus software. If you are on an IT network, it’s always good to defer to your IT professional about which updates are the most important. Strong anti-virus software can stop many to all dangerous applications dead in their tracks.
- Use a password management tool – There are lots of tools to help you with your password updates. Two in particular – LastPress and Dashlane – help you easily and seamlessly change and manage your passwords at will. Uploading this information often to a cloud can also be a great tool to keep information backed up.
- Always check your personal accounts. Then check them again! Back when the Trustwave report hit, Yahoo, Google, Twitter and Facebook sprung into action to make sure their users were using their two-factor authentication in order to protect their accounts. What they didn’t do – was notify their customers that this happened. Why? They weren’t directly responsible due to the hack technically not occurring on their watch. If any site has required you to reset a password recently, then you should check all of your protected accounts to ensure they haven’t been hacked.
At Advanced Communications LLC we offer a wide variety of other services you may be interested in as well including premise-based phone systems, faxing solutions, and so much more. If you want to keep your personal information and business data safe and secure, call or email us today. We’ll schedule a time to discuss your needs!
