Is your password “password”, “1234” or “password123”? If it is, change it right now. If your password is simple, or if you reuse them, it is time to change. More and more of what we do is happening online, which means we need more security. Some websites don’t require a secure password, while others will ask for an uppercase letter, a number, and a symbol. And although “Password123!” meets all these criteria, it is also easy to guess making your information easier access for bad guys.
Note: Even if a service permits you to use a simple password, it’s best to pick a strong one.
What can you do? It is difficult and unrealistic to memorize every single password. Writing it down is not only unsafe, but also unreliable. Your password could be misplaced or lost, we may spill coffee on it, or forget that we changed one of our passwords two months ago. I encourage you to consider subscribing to a password manager service that can help you keep your passwords and logins safe.
Many password managers will let you create an account for free. You only need to memorize ONE password and that’s the one to get into the password manager. Remember to use a hard to guess password. After all, if you’re going to keep your passwords in one place, it should be as secure as you can make it.
Consumer Reports recommends the following password managers.
- 1Password Keeper
- Bitwarden
- Lastpass
- Dashlane
- Norton360
- McAfee
To view the ratings and costs of services visit the library’s collection of Consumer Reports.