Passwords: 7 Security Mistakes

Imagine leaving for work in the morning and leaving your front door not only unlocked, but wide open. Pretty unrealistic right? Securing our valuables and the things in our home is very important to all of us, so why don’t we treat our cyber security the same way?

We live in a world driven on technology. The average internet user manages about 10 different accounts ranging from work related programs to email accounts as well as social media. So much of our lives are held on our computers and devices and it’s very important that they stay as secure as possible.

Data breaches can wreak havoc on your personal and professional life. An intruder gaining access to critical information can lead to identity theft, files being duplicated, deleted, and things being stolen.

#1 cause of data breaches are poor passwords

Studies show the number one reason for data breaches is a poor password. Passwords, similar to a lock on our front door is the first line of defense against intruders and hackers. The most common security mistakes involve passwords that are:

1. Easy to guess
2. Using personal information that can be looked up
   (favorite color, favorite sports team)
3. Less than 7-10 characters
4. Being used on multiple accounts
5. Haven’t been changed in over 3 months
6. Don’t have a mix of upper and lowercase characters
7. Contains no special characters (numbers, punctuation, and symbols)

If it’s easy for you to think of someone else can more than likely figure it out too.

Good password security can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Coming up with something secure is finding the perfect mix what you can remember, and what’s difficult for hackers to guess. Our brains remember sequences best when grouped together in sets of three or four, so try starting with this in mind.

Strong password protection combined with other security tools such as Antivirus, and NovaBACKUP for your data-protection can be an excellent comprehensive strategy. NovaBACKUP allows you to run jobs as a specific password protected user, as well as allowing you to create an encryption key to further protect your backup files safe from prying eyes.

Give us a call at +1 805 579-6700 to get set up today.