A Healthy Network Starts with Good Personal Tech Hygiene: Passwords

Password management is a lot like flossing. You don’t want to do it, but you should. The tediousness of it seems to outweigh the benefits. You may be thinking to yourself, “My system works for me.” And it probably does! You are still alive and well in this digital age. You haven’t been hacked. Nobody will ever crack your master password. That’s why you use it. And you will continue using it until it breaks or gets broken into.

So what’s the problem?

There are typically two problems:

1. You use one password for the majority of your accounts.
2. You keep a document, whether it’s a text file or spreadsheet, on your computer with your account passwords.

This is why you shouldn’t do either.

1. A password is your backyard wall—it keeps an honest person out and deters the majority of would-be criminals. But what about professional hackers? It probably wouldn’t deter them at all. So why use the same password for your shopping accounts as you would for your bank account?
2. Keeping your passwords in one location, whether digital or not, is like writing an address for each one of your keys in your pocket and sticking it on. If you keep one document, you are probably not encrypting the information. So if someone were to do a little digging into your computer and they found your password notebook, guess what? They know how to match your passwords to your accounts.

For this tedious personal tech hygiene practice, we recommend two solutions:

1. Search for a password manager that helps you manage your passwords. These come with much safer practices and encryptions.
2. Enable multi-factor authentication. This number is one you are probably familiar with since companies, big and small, are turning to this for improved online safety.

A healthy network for your business or personal use begins with good tech hygiene. So floss every day and make sure your passwords are varied, secret, and safe. If you are interested in ensuring your password policy is setup for success, please give us a call at (915) 587-7902. We would be happy to help.