Updating Passwords: The Thread to our Cyber Pockets
How often do you update your passwords? Everyone talks about how you should change your passwords on a regular basis. But do you really do it?
Over the past few months, I’ve had several people I know send me spam email through, specifically, their AOL and Hotmail accounts. Not sure why, but it seems that these two email providers are being targeted heavily by hackers.
Had the majority of those people ever changed their password on those accounts?
Nope.
Do they use that email address to access bank statements, credit card statements, 401k’s, shop online, etc.?
You betcha.
Most online security professionals recommend changing your password every 3 months. Of course, what you do online could dictate whether that timeline should be decreased or increased. If you’re not online very much, you could get away with going slightly past the 3 month mark. If you’re constantly online playing games, shopping, etc., it’s best to not go past that 3 month timeline.
Think of it this way, you go on a trip and lose your wallet because there’s a hole in your pocket. You’re now in a frantic rush to cancel your debit and credit cards. Not updating your online passwords is like creating a hole in your cyber pocket that allows hackers the opportunity to steal this information.
When creating a new password, you have to think about something that is obvious to you that wouldn’t be to an outsider. You should always avoid using your kid’s names, pet’s names, etc. Include a couple numbers, capitalization and a symbol if you can.
Ok, so stop reading this and go spend a few minutes sewing up that cyber pocket of yours by creating some new passwords!
