Having a secure password is invaluable for you, your personal information, and the ecommerce sites you frequent online. It’s not enough to have a password if it is easy to crack or can easily be guessed; this is why it’s important to use complex passwords that are difficult for hackers and identity thieves alike to crack. Many people think, oh its just my Home Depot account, or its just my Target account, but its that mindset exactly that makes these accounts targets for hackers.
In today’s digital world, data breaches go unreported on a weekly basis. Yet, the need for decreasing cyber risks remains constant. The best way to defend yourself against these risks is by using perfect passwords.
A Secure Password Can Go a Long Way
Passwords are usually the first line of defense against cyber threats. A strong password can help prevent hackers from accessing private information that may be stored in a database of yours or that of your favorite eCommerce site. If one of your passwords gets leaked, the hacker can access personal information like credit card details and online identities, among others.
To create a secure password, you have to consider the following:
1. Create a Unique Password for Every Account
Your passwords should be as unique as possible. Reusing passwords is a major risk factor that can compromise your entire digital life with just one hack, especially for sites that you have used your personal payment information on to purchase items.
They should be long, complex, and as unique as possible. For example, “admin” is a terrible password, but “Fr1dg30nmyH#@dTh@thurt$3” is a good one. The reason is simple: the longer and more complex the password is, the safer your information will be. This way, it’s impossible for hackers to guess your password, as they can’t possibly know all the possible combinations of characters you might choose.
2. Use a Password Manager
Password managers are programs that help you create, manage and secure passwords. You can even sync them across all your devices, so you have the passwords for each platform readily available at any time. The most important factors for deciding which password manager to use are security, data backup, and synchronization. It is important to select a secure password manager that you can trust that implements 2 or even 3 factor authentication in order to access to ensure that your login is not the only thing standing in between your sensitive data and a hacker trying to access it.
3. Don’t Store your Passwords on the Browser
If you have multiple passwords for different websites, it’s important to store them in a password manager, rather than in your browsers password storage extensions. These extensions are not secure and are extremely easy for hackers to access.
Malicious programs can steal all your passwords that are stored in your browser and not encrypted. If this happens, the hacker has access to all your confidential information without having any kind of software installed on your computer. This is especially true when visiting ecommerce sites online. It can be very tempting to just use your go to password for a simple transaction online, and then just to save that password in your browsers extension, but you must be vigilant and avoid that temptation!
4. Change your Passwords Regularly
You also need to change your passwords regularly and ensure you don’t leave any traces of them stored places where they might be compromised. Even if you think you’re being careful, changing your password often is a good way of protecting it from cyber-attacks.
What’s the takeaway?
When setting up a digital presence, even if it’s just your digital presence as your shopping online, it’s easy to overlook the importance of having a complex, unique password. However, having a unique password across different ecommerce websites is one of the first steps to securing your personal information and avoiding data breaches. As long as you have a strong and unique password for every ecommerce account, you can rest assured that your information will be safe from cyber criminals and all their tricks.
