The Password Reset Isn’t How to Remember a Password

Consider a keychain for a moment. For most of us, a keychain holds all of our necessities such as home keys, car keys, work keys and even forgotten keys, that we aren’t quite sure what to do with. Now, think about this. What if your keychain had keys that look identical, but each key only opens one door.

5DIf you are like most people, this key scenario is almost identical to the way you treat your account passwords online. What happens when you want to use a key, but you don’t know which one goes with which door? It can be very easy to forget and identify the key to the door or the password to the website.

What do you do in this situation? You probably wouldn’t have a friend that had a key to your home, and you certainly don’t want to break down the door. Should you call a locksmith every time you forget which key works? This sounds ridiculous, right? Well, it is no different than using the password reset feature when it comes to forgetting the password on a website. Instead, step up your password game.

Don’t Change Your Password Every Time You Forget It

You wouldn’t want to call a locksmith every time you lock yourself out of the house, and you should not rely on a password reset feature every time you forget your password.

  • If you have a number of accounts and don’t want the hassle of creating strong, long passwords, consider a password manager.
  • These services will help you to create a strong, secure password for every website you frequent, plus you will have a single master password, that allows you to manage it all.
  • A password manager eliminates having to reset a password.

Create the Best Password for Your Online Accounts

When it comes to creating the best password for any online account, According to Bill Carey, VP Marketing for the RoboForm Password Manager “It’s not a matter of if your password will be leaked, it’s a matter of when.  So protect yourself by using a strong and unique password for every website.”

  • Passwords must be a minimum of eight characters long, and they should include mismatched numbers, characters and letters.
  • The best passwords do not spell any words.
  • Use a password for each account, especially if using high-value websites such as banking sites.
  • Make sure to change your passwords regularly.

Robert Siciliano is a personal privacy, security and identity theft expert to RoboForm discussing identity theft prevention. Disclosures.