Ever since the first computer was rolled out and used by the general public to store personal and confidential data, we have had to deal with passwords. Even today, right after unpacking your new device, you’re prompted to setup your initial password. Every single day, you use a password to log into numerous websites, apps, accounts and more.

But because passwords are so important, we’re getting attacked and hacked now more than ever. And those bad guys seem to be winning, too. The statistics for 2015 and 2016 were very scary, and 2017 isn’t faring any better. The world is still spinning from the ransomware attack that hit over 100 countries. If the past is any indication, things will get much worse before they get any better.

What Can You Do?

You can always hope that your system will remain unnoticed by bad guys on a rampage. But sadly, if you happen to be the owner of a small-to-medium business, the chances that you could get attacked increase significantly.

Don’t panic! Ensuring you have strong, secure, unique passwords in place for each of your accounts will help keep you a bit safer when it comes to online hacks.

Strong Passwords

You’d be surprised how many people have passwords that can be easily hacked. Make sure none of your passwords follow these easily hackable practices:

• Use default site or app passwords.
• Create generic passwords akin to “12345678,” “password,” “abcd123,””qwerty,” or even “P@ssw0rd” because these are the first passwords hackers try.
• Have your birthday date, that of friends or family, or any other dates in your password.
• Use sames, surnames or last names – even if you scrambled them.

Never include personal information in your passwords. Totally avoid words and digits that are even remotely related to you. Instead, go for:

• Words that aren’t found in the English dictionary.
• Random characters that have no sequence whatsoever.
• Caps, numerals and special characters in random order.
• As many characters as you possibly can – don’t rely on the bare minimum.

With these rules in mind, you should be able to come up with a very secure password. Create one that you will have a hard time remembering (but don’t forget it!)

Secure Passwords

Millions of people go to extreme lengths to create an unbreakable password, succeed in doing so, and then compromise it due to very common and easily avoidable mistakes. These mistakes include:

1. Writing the Password Down

A password is never meant to be written down anywhere. It is your key and only you are allowed to know it. Writing it down on a Post-it and putting it in a drawer or sticking it on a page in your notebook can and will compromise it.

2. Saving It

Unless you have a computer or laptop that only you use, it is a bad idea to save passwords in forms. Yes, it can prove to be a tedious task to type in a password every time you want to check your email, but the security is always worth it.

3. Letting Someone Watch

You might trust your colleagues, but they have no business watching as you type in your password anywhere. Again, passwords are yours alone to know.

4. Using the Same Password

This is probably the most common error we all make. We create a good, strong password and then use it on every form we come across. It becomes the password for our email, our bank accounts and our office portals. While it might make it easy for you to remember and use your password, you’re putting  yourself at great risk. If one account gets hacked that means all your accounts are compromised at once.

Keep your passwords to yourself and create unique ones for every application you use. You can use slight variations on your passwords to make them easier to remember. For example, if your base password were “2Klmm_Rt” you could add a “Gm” (2Klmm_RtGm) at the end for your Gmail account and an “Fb” (2Klmm_RtFb) for your Facebook account. The additions can be split to go before and after (G2Klmm_Rtm, F2Klmm_Rtb) added at the front and end. Be creative and then lock that password down.