Forgetting a password can be a frustrating way to start your day at any job. After you have changed it multiple times, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with your new passwords. However, it is important that you are not tempted to come up with weak passwords! Last year weak passwords accounted for 70% of all system and internet breaches.
So how do you keep all of your passwords strong and still remember them all? The answer is not to write them down. What is the point of a complex password if someone can just open a desk drawer and find them all written down? We have even seen users write passwords on sticky notes and attach them to their monitors. If this is you, please take those down and shred them. What do you do before you shred all of the passwords you have written down? Type you passwords into a password keeper.
Password keepers are software that you can download to your computer, phone or tablet. You only have to remember one strong password to access all of your passwords, which are encrypted and very secure. There are many different programs available for download that will perform this function. The software that I prefer is called Keepass, and is totally free, you can download it here http://keepass.info/download.html.
Keepass has a lot of great features. It’s open-source which is generally better for security reasons, you can sync it through Dropbox which some may find useful and provides another layer of security. Keepass is also available for any operating system, Windows, Mac and Linux. Try and make your passwords at least 8 characters long including a capital letter, a symbol and a number. Once you have a password keeper installed, you can make your passwords very complex and never have to call the help-desk for a password reset again!
Contact ITDATA today if you are in need of higher level network security. We can help!
Zachery Albeitawi
Help Desk Technician, ITDATA, Inc.