Avoid Tricks This Halloween – Why Security Is Important
The rush of Christmas and new year is on the horizon. Technical issues and security breaches are happening more than ever before. We want to remind you how to stay safe and secure across in business this winter. Something as simple as having a secure password can ensure you avoid being hacked.
Remember that passwords are the safest way of securing your data, so care for them like they’re your life – because often enough, they are what’s protecting the things which help you live your life.
Passwords are essential. For every personal device, business account and any other data storage device it is crucial to have a secure log in in place to protect the information and data it holds. A password can include any letter, numerical value or symbol and most can be any length, short or long.
Some combinations are stronger than others, and you can always test your chosen password before you set it up. But what’s really important to allow to you work, shop and socialise online safely and easily is to REMEMBER them.
What happens when you forget your password?
From a personal perspective, you will have experienced the frustrations of forgetting a password for your online shopping account, for example, but that probably won’t have a long-lasting detrimental impact on your life if you forget them. With a click of a button, you can reset your password and access everything as you usually would. However, when it comes to passwords which protect your personal information or business data, you can put yourself at risk if you lose them or forget them. Additional problems arise when you forget passwords to secured data because you cannot reset your codes easily. Instead of the issue being a fleeting frustration, you’ll need to do a lot more to get back into your account. There are many steps to take when resetting a secure password because your account will do everything in its power to verify who you are to protect your data. The two-factor authentication will recognise you as an intruder.
There is also another common misconception with re-setting passwords. Many of us assume you can reset your password as many times as you need so there’s no real need to remember it. However, companies will track how many times you have reset your password and make it more difficult each time you attempt to change it. They do this as a way of protecting against bots and hackers. You will seem more suspicious if you need to reset your password multiple times, so will likely be blocked or have your accounts removed. The likelihood of this happening is small so long as you remember your passwords!
The Black Nova dos and don’ts of passwords
So how can you create strong passwords and remember them easily? Here are our dos and don’ts with regards to passwords to help you.
• DO use two factor authentication on all devices, this acts as an extra layer of protection for your data.
• DO seek out a reliable password manager if you are prone to forgetting your passwords. A password manager will store thousands of your codes associated with each different log in you have and is protected by its own firewall against hacks.
• DO check the strength of your passwords. We recommend a free website to use where you can test how secure your password is.
• DO remember your email address passwords, Hotmail, outlook, yahoo or business emails – they are all important and vital to remember.
• DO have different passwords for different accounts. There is nothing worse than using a password across multiple devices and accounts. It makes it 10 times easier for a hacker or bot to be able to steal your data.
• Even if you’re tempted to have duplicated the same password across multiple accounts, we recommend you DO NOT use the same password more than 3 times.
• We also suggest you DO NOT write down any of your passwords in a notebook, in the notes section of your phone or even on a loose piece of paper. There is no way of keeping a password safe when it is stored in your notes. It is so easy for someone to find your mobile, log in and find them. Furthermore, using a piece of paper to store your codes is insanely unreliable. If you lose that paper, all your passwords will need resetting unless you can remember them. Although it sounds straightforward, you’ll be alarmed by how many people do this. Until you sit in our office and hear the number of calls we take from clients requesting help with passwords you probably won’t realise how common a mistake this is!
Take the time to set up a password manager
Running a business is much simpler and hassle free when using a password manager. Not only can you rest assured that your data is protected with secure passwords, but you also won’t have to stress over forgetting or misplacing those important codes. This will relieve pressure on remote working and device re-sets. Many issues can occur with unsecure passwords, especially in the workplace. Anywhere you work will have a security system in place to protect employer details. Forgetting your business passwords or having an unsecure password can result in a range of breaches to your personal and professional information. Being unable to access emails because you cannot remember your password will bring a multitude of issues, for example you frustrate a client, and they find another service provider, or you miss an important deadline and miss a sale. Or, if your office needed new computers or an updated email system, everyone would need to know their passwords to log back into their device. It really is worth taking the time to set up a password manager and storing all your strong, secure passwords in it. It’s what we do here at Black Nova and it’s what we advise our clients to do too!