You ARE Using a Password Manager, Right?
I've been harping on online security for a while now, but today I want to focus on one particular issue; passwords. This is an extremely important issue, and if there is one thing you can do to improve your security, it's to have a password manager.
Passwords are at the heart of online security, and in order to have a good password it needs to be long, complicated and it needs to be different on EVERY website you go to.
A password manager will automatically generate very powerful passwords for every site you want to use, and then it will save these passwords for you.
So let me address some of the common objections...
OBJECTION: I don't trust a password manager.
ANSWER: It's good to not trust things until you do your research. So do whatever level of research you need to do to come to a decision one way or another.
OBJECTION: It's a single point of failure, and if someone breaks into my password manager they have access to everything.
ANSWER: I would answer this question in 3 ways.
FIRST, there is no perfect answer, and there is no approach that is completely rock-solid. But, if you aren't using a password manager you are probably taking shortcuts with your passwords; either using the same one on multiple sites, or using shorter passwords than you should, both of which are more likely to be weaknesses that people will exploit.
SECOND, it's very important that you use a strong master password for your password manager. A master password simply means that you have to remember one single password to manage your password manager, and then your password manager manages all of your other passwords.
THIRD, for every important account you use, you also need to set up two-factor authentication.
FOURTH, also understand that there are two types of attacks; a targeted attack in which someone specifically targets you, which is rare. The other type of attack is algorithms that find weaknesses and commonality in thousands of people's passwords at the same time. The second type is much more common and is the type that you primarily need to protect against.
OBJECTION: I'm not good with computers and feel intimidated by a password manager.
ANSWER: Then you're the perfect target for a criminal. Password managers are not complicated to set up, but if you feel intimidated by it, find someone you trust to help you.
OBJECTION: A password manager is expensive, at least to me.
ANSWER: Nope. You can get a really good password manager for free here. More than this however, it will be MUCH more expensive if people steal your data or gain access to certain accounts.
Here's an article that explains this issue more. Take the leap to do this NOW!
Questions? Ask in the comment section.
I am older than dirt. My husband died in an auto accident. I am dependent on Soc. Sec. and a small settlement . My son takes care of financial issues. My daughter is on board as well. Any advice