Don ' t get hacked ! Time to get serious about password safety
Top tips for locking down your online security
We all know hiding your house key under the doormat is a terrible idea , but we do it anyway because it ' s a convenient backup . When it comes to safeguarding passwords , especially in a family setting , people often choose convenience over safety .
As families manage their digital information and online accounts , many end up opting for that less secure key-under-the-doormat solution . People are already sharing passwords , and their methods of sharing are not always the best . Some 41 percent of adults with online accounts admit to sharing passwords with friends and family , according to an Americans and Cybersecurity survey by Pew Research Center . Yet , 90.8 percent of respondents say they know that having strong passwords helps them better protect their families .
Consider the number of security breaches that continue to make national news :
* In 2016 , we learned the Yahoo data breach compromised 1 billion accounts .
* In that same month , we learned 167 million email addresses and passwords were stolen from LinkedIn .
* In September 2017 , a security breach at Equifax was reported , exposing Social Security numbers and other personal data of 143 million users , which is nearly half the U . S . population .
Now more than ever , it ' s clear how important it is to protect our personal information online . According to a Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report , 81 percent of data breaches involve weak , reused or stolen credentials . That ' s signi�cantly higher than the 63 percent it was in 2016 .
" If you were to dig into the reasons behind these repeated , overly simple , shared passwords , it ' s actually pretty understandable as to how this happens ," according to LastPass Senior Director of Product , Steve Schult . " The average person has some 200-plus logins . If you were to give each its own strong , unique password , that ' s way too many for one person to keep track of and remember , let alone all the other family members that might also use some of those accounts ."
But there ' s no need to trade security for the convenience of digital access . With a password manager designed for individual or family use , you can create those strong passwords for all the accounts you and your family use , and store them within a secure vault that ' s accessed by a single master password only you know . These digital lockboxes protect your information under multiple layers of security , making it impossible for digital thieves to hack and access .
If you ' re debating whether to make the switch to a digital password manager , here ' s a few ways it can improve your family ' s online security and help stop the struggle with passwords .
Create rock-solid passwords : Most password managers offer a secure password generator that allows you to set and create a long , strong and unique password for every online account . You can create a password up to 100 characters long , including numbers and symbols . Another way to do it is by using the " passphrase " approach , meaning string together words that create a phrase . Be sure to steer clear of birthdays , anniversaries , street names and other speci�c personal details that can be found through a simple social media search .