Passwords

It’s very common for our personal info to appear in a data breach, including emails and passwords. Sad to say, it’s now a fact of online life. Thankfully, knowing is half the battle. There’s much we can do to protect ourselves.

Here’s what you can do right away:

1. Use a STRONG password on your email account. This is your most sensitive, important online account, so it deserves a strong password that you don’t use on any other web sites.
2. Subscribe to a free breach notification service. If a web site you use suffers a breach, you’ll receive an alert letting you know. You can then change those passwords. We recommend Have I Been Pwned . This is a free service; there’s no catch or upsell. It’s run by a concerned citizen looking out for other people online.

Here’s what you can do in the coming weeks:

1. Use a password manager app! They make it much easier to create and use long, complex passwords that are unique for each web site you use. Password reuse is a major risk, allowing a breach on one web site to spread to others. Any reputable password manager will do a good job, including iCloud Keychain for iOS, Mac and Google Saved Passwords for Android, Chrome browser.
2. Reset your password on web sites where you’ve used the same password as other sites. Use your password manager to generate new passwords. If you need a password manager, and don't know where to get one, check out our top menu, left side, for APPLICATIONS > RESOURCES > APPS & SOFTWARE TOOLS > PASSWORD MANAGEMENT.
3. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on web sites that support it , especially your email account!

This is a lot to tackle all at once. Take it step by step. Please feel free to reply to this topic with any questions. You’ve got this, and we’re here to help.