The requirement for a password for everything is among the most inconvenient aspects of technology for many individuals. Although password verification is essential to protecting your data, remembering all of the different passwords might be challenging.
It’s possible that you and your staff will try to make things easy by using passwords that are simple to remember. Your data may be at danger as a result. A hacker only needs to make one safe assumption to destroy your company.
Because so many small businesses fail to recover from a data breach, it’s crucial to avoid these frequent password errors. Find out what they are and how to prevent them in the future by reading on.
Mistake #1 – Using Commonly Used Passwords
What would you respond if asked to guess the most popular password? Would it surprise you to hear that the number is 12345?
People ought to have realized by now that this password is a prime candidate for fraud and hacking, but they haven’t. Avoid making the same error.
Make sure your passwords aren’t simple words that hackers may easily guess.
Mistake #2 – Your Company Lacks Password Policies
Most small businesses delegate the task of creating passwords to their staff. That has the drawback of leaving too much to chance. They might not be aware that they’re typing their password incorrectly.
One approach to make sure that your staff are held responsible for using secure passwords is to have a strong password policy for your company.
You should have some sort of policy to ensure that your employees’ personal devices are secure and don’t damage your network if they bring them to work.
Mistake #3 – Using The Same Password For Everything
Another major error that many people make is using the same password for practically everything. Yes, it’s simple to recall. However, all it takes is one data breach for all of your information – including financial information – to be accessed.
Make sure to use different passwords for each website you visit and to update them frequently. That password from ten years ago is probably still available on the dark web.
Mistake #4 – Not Storing Passwords Properly
Make certain that you can recall your passwords. The whole list of all your passwords can be kept in a text file on your computer.
Your ransom price just increased significantly if your device is infected with ransomware and a hacker obtains your data. That is, if the hacker doesn’t decide to access such websites on their own.
Mistake #5 – Using Numbers For Letters
People have used digits in place of letters to construct powerful passwords that are easy to remember. The user could choose “tr33” instead of the word “tree” as an example.
Avoid doing this since hackers who have access to a lot of information about you will anticipate it. They can quickly determine which word is your favorite, then attempt to decipher it.
What To Do Instead – Best Password Practices
Make sure the new password you’re creating is impossible to remember when you’re setting it up.
Passwords that not even you can remember are the greatest. Choosing a password that is made up of a lot of random characters, numbers, and symbols falls under this category.
Utilize the password generator on the platform you’re creating the password for if it has one. The passwords that a generator will generate are excellent since they are the kinds of passwords you want and are extremely random.
Use a free online password generator if the platform you’re using doesn’t have one.
Let’s now discuss how to properly save your passwords.
How To Safely Store Your Passwords
Where do you intend to keep your stronger passwords once you’ve created them? You might wish to reconsider your choice if the spreadsheet with your response is saved on your desktop.
These locations are more accessible to hackers than you would imagine. It is preferable to use a password manager like LastPass if you wish to adhere to some of the best practices for securely saving your passwords.
Because they keep your passwords with the highest level of security, password managers are fantastic.
You must authenticate yourself while logging in to your account in order to access it and see all of your passwords. The Google Authenticator app or another 2-factor authentication method typically performs this.
Avoid The Most Common Password Mistakes
Whether you’re responsible for data, you need to be absolutely sure that it’s protected. There’s too much at stake, and you can’t afford to have your system breached. The easiest way to protect your data is to avoid the most common password mistakes.
Make sure that you use strong passwords, change them regularly, and have a password policy set in place.
Wrap Up
Passwords are a critical line of defense in protecting our valuable digital assets. Avoiding common password mistakes is essential for maintaining data security and safeguarding our personal information.
By using strong and unique passwords, avoiding password reuse, enabling multi-factor authentication, securely storing passwords, and regularly updating them, we fortify our digital security.
Conclusion
Cyber threats are ever-evolving, and hackers continuously seek ways to exploit weak passwords. Let’s take a proactive approach to data protection by being mindful of our password practices.
By adopting secure password habits, we can better protect our online identities, financial accounts, and sensitive information from cybercriminals. Together, let’s prioritize our data security and create a safer digital environment for ourselves and others.
ITX Tech Group has been serving small, medium, and large scale businesses with their IT support needs all over the United States since 2011, so we’re confident we can provide you with affordable, professional IT solutions for years to come!
Connect with us for a free consultation to discuss your business technology needs.