You may have noticed on your renewal questionnaire earlier this year that one of the cyber liability questions referred to the use of a password manager. Password management is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect your online accounts and store important information that you need to refer to repeatedly, such as credit card numbers, PINs, and security questions.
A password manager also simplifies your life by using a Master Password. Consider this One Password to Rule them all! This password should be easy for you to remember but complicated enough not to be easily guessed by potential hackers. I recommend a personal passphrase, like a song lyric or a line from a movie. Most password managers allow you to use spaces and special characters in your master password, so you can space the phrase correctly or condense it for simplicity.
Example: To infinity and beyond!
Alternatively: Toinfinityandbeyond! (Without spaces)
You can also substitute some characters to make it even harder to replicate: 2infinity&beyond!
You can take password security one step further by enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) when logging in. This will require a code from a text message or authenticator app as a second layer of authentication with your Master Password.
Consumer Reports has an in-depth article on password managers, how to use them, and their recommendations based on evaluations of several leading products.
Improve your cyber posture and begin using a password manager today.
Ryan Wilson, Technology/Business Systems Coordinator
Resources:
How to Use a Password Manager, Consumer Reports, February 28, 2022