Gareth McKee and his Trusted Saskatoon IT team at Burnt Orange Solutions promise to have a one-hour response time for all your IT support needs. Honesty and respect are important to them. They pride themselves on ensuring their clients understand IT concerns by providing a straightforward and reliable solution with exceptional service. Burnt Orange Solutions are your Trusted Saskatoon IT Experts. In their latest Saskatoon IT expert tip, Gareth shares how to create secure passwords to protect yourself online.
Data breaches and identity theft are on the rise. Therefore, using strong passwords is necessary to protect your accounts against cyber attacks. Here are some tips to create secure passwords and help keep your accounts unbreakable.
To help keep your accounts unbreakable, follow these password guidelines:
- All passwords must be at least 16 characters or more. Longer passwords are more secure than shorter ones.
- All passwords must involve a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Different passwords must be used for each account.
- Passwords must never include personl information or any information that can be accessed through social media such as the names of children or pets.
- Passwords should never contain any consecutive letters or numbers.
Why Password Security Is Important
Without strong passwords, hackers are able to gain access to accounts and sensitive information. Hackers use personal information such as names, addresses, and bank account information to steal money or the identity of the user. Identity theft is extremely concerning. It results in financial loss and makes it difficult for the user to get a loan or a job.
Password security is also very important for businesses. Whenever hackers gain access to sensitive information, they consequently share the data with the business’ competitors or store it for ransom.
Other Ways To Protect Yourself Online
Besides utilizing strong passwords, there are other ways to protect yourself online including:
- Using a VPN – Internet Service Providers are able to track the online activity of users and can access private IP addresses. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is the alternative to connecting to a public Wi-Fi network. Using a VPN ensures web activity and IP addresses are not accessible to your internet provider.
Identity Theft Protection – Using identity theft protection software will help protect personal information from identity theft. Identity theft protection software will flag criminal behaviour to help protect personal information.
Using Antivirus Software – Antivirus software helps protect users from viruses, ransomware, and other cyber threats. Antivirus software scans for known viruses and alerts the user that their computer or phone has been compromised.
Using a Password Manager – Password managers encrypt usernames and passwords and require biometrics to log in. Password managers keep passwords safe and secure.
These tips will help keep your accounts unbreakable, therefore protecting you and your business. If you have any questions regarding strong passwords to keep your accounts secure, contact the IT experts at
Burnt Orange IT Solutions. We can help your business mitigate risk, and be prepared for any IT-related emergency.