We now have more passwords than ever before. Best practice is that a password is a minimum of 18 characters long, but how can we remember that when we struggle to remember a mobile phone number? And having the same password for every website increases your chances of being hacked.
A Vault for Your Passwords
Given how hard it is to remember all these passwords, it is worthwhile considering a password manager app, which is like a vault for your passwords.
A password manager app can securely store your passwords in a safe location, ensuring you only need to remember one ‘master’ password, which is used to gain access to the passwords. Given the sensitivity of your passwords, we recommend further protecting your password manager with multi-factor authentication (MFA).
You use the password manager within your web browser to help generate and store passwords for the individual sites, which they then can automatically complete when you go to the website.
Having a password manager is more secure than storing passwords in your web browser, and is easier to use than a book, as they save your new password when you change it.
Securing your accounts with multi-factor authentication
We all have online accounts we need to protect: emails, personal and business data, superannuation and investments, entertainment sites holding concert tickets to our favourite artists, and social media containing treasured photos and memories.
With recent advancements in hacking tools, passwords can be easily guessed, especially if the same password is used for multiple accounts. One way to make these accounts more secure is to use multi-factor authentication, also known as MFA.
Why Use MFA?
MFA requires you to input an additional code as well as your password. The code can be sent to your email or mobile phone, but the best way is to use an ‘Authenticator’ app. Examples of such Authenticator apps include Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator and Authy. We strongly encourage using these apps as they are more secure than email and text messages.
The Authenticator app is free to download from your mobile device’s app store. Once you have installed it, you can add your website accounts to this, referring to the website’s specific account settings which will guide you through the process.
The best part is that it is free to set up, and after the initial set-up, your account is done.
For more information, please visit Cyber Guru.
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