Happy World Password Day! It is on the first Thursday of May each year. The day is here to raise awareness of the crucial need for robust and unique passwords for all your online accounts. The need is pretty much justified—most of our information is online. And we continuously hear about data breaches. So, organisations and people must prioritise keeping their information secure. Passwords are one way to do so.

It’s time to move away from using “password123” to secure your accounts. Below are fast tips for you to get better at passwords.

Use a password manager

We know you write passwords on post-it notes and place them on your desk or in your notebook or diary. It’s time to upgrade to a password manager. For goodness sake, it’s 2022, and there are several free options out there. Below are two excellent service providers:

Whatever password manager you choose will help you take away the need for you to come up with wild password ideas. It’ll also auto-fill the passwords for your online accounts—one less thing to remember.

Update your passwords regularly

Set a reminder on your calendar to update your passwords regularly. If you’re dealing with a mailbox that contains sensitive information, we recommend you schedule a monthly reminder to update your password. Alternatively, your mailbox may have a built-in feature to make passwords expire after some time. It should then prompt you to update your password.

Use Two Factor Authentication (2FA)

What is 2FA? Well, it’s a second way to authenticate that you are who you say you are when you log in to your account. There are generally three ways that 2FA can take place:

  1. Text message. Here you supply your mobile phone number to the service provider that hosts your online account. Then, each time you log in, they’ll automatically send you a one-time password to access your account.
  2. App. Download an app from your Android or Apple device. Then, connect the app to your online account by scanning a QR code. Once you’ve set it up, each time you log in to your account, the app will send you a dynamic six-digit code to use to access your account. A good 2FA app is Google Authenticator.
  3. Hardware security key. It protects you against automated bots and cyberattacks by using cryptography (fancy code) to verify your identity and the URL of your login page. They typically connect to your computer via USB, USB-C, or Bluetooth. See this year’s best security keys.

Next steps

Pat yourself on the back. If you’ve followed the tips, you’ve moved towards securing your information—one less thing to worry about on World Password Day. And, you’ve reduced the likelihood of hackers getting access to your information.

If you want to learn more about how to secure your information, join our cybersecurity programme.