The more our technological world expands, the more passwords we need to have to keep all our accounts in order. We want them to be different and complicated enough to be secure, but also easy enough to remember—we all know the frustration that takes place when you can’t quite remember which special character you had to include this time! It only seems to be getting more complicated. This makes creating and remembering passwords difficult and there’s nothing more frustrating than having to change your password over and over again. For an easier password process, try these tools and tactics.
Avoid Simple Passwords
We’ve all done it: we’ve used our dog’s name or our birthday as part of our password, likely back when we first signed up for MySpace or MSN. The problem with these passwords is that they’re way too simple and easy for someone to figure out. A clever friend or family member could probably hack your Facebook page or access your personal information in minutes (though we’re sure they’d only leave a funny status as evidence). Steer clear of using anything that’s easily guessed such as birth dates, names or commonly used passwords like 12345 and qwerty.
Make Your Passwords Secure, But Memorable
Keep in mind that you want to be able to remember your password, but it still needs to be complicated enough so that no one can guess it. Here are some rules to follow when making a secure but memorable password:
- The longer it is, the better. We don’t mean the you should write a whole paragraph, but including a phrase or a couple of words is better than a single name or word. The more characters, the harder to crack.
- Mix it up! Use special characters and numbers in the password. Once again, this just makes it harder for anyone to guess. Try replacing O’s with 0’s or I’s with 1’s.
- Reverse it. If you want to use a simple password but are worried that it’s not secure enough, flip it so that it’s backwards or switch the words in the phrase around.
Keep Track of Them
We saved the best solution for last! Gone are the days of documenting all of your passwords on a piece of paper in your desk drawer. Sticky Password is a free and secure password manager that remembers your passwords for you, meaning no matter how complicated they are, you’ll never be locked out of your accounts again. It connects to all of your accounts across any device, so you won’t have to type them in over and over again either. Now that you’ve created secure passwords, Sticky Password will make sure that managing your various social networks and email accounts is a breeze.
Now that you have the proper tools and tricks at your disposal, it’ll be easy to keep your personal information and networks under (cyber) lock and key.