How Safe Are Your Passwords?

We know it can be a huge pain to keep coming up with secure passwords for all the various sites you use on the internet, not to mention remember them all. However, passwords that are not complexly put together can be easily hacked. Check out our Do’s and Don’ts for creating and maintaining your passwords.

Do’s

• Create unique passwords (such as phrases) that use a combination of words, numbers, symbols, and both upper- and lower-case letters.
• Choose length over complexity.
• When presented as an option, use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an additional layer of security. This means you will need to use an additional security code, provided via text or email, to confirm that you really are trying to log in.
• Use a password management tool or password vault to help keep your passwords organized. They can store your passwords securely, and many provide a way to back-up your passwords and synchronize them across multiple systems, as well as generate randomized passwords.

Don’ts

• Do not use your network username as your password.
• Don’t use easily guessed passwords, such as “password” or “user.”
• Do not choose passwords based upon details that may not be as confidential as you’d expect, such as your birth date, your Social Security or phone number, pet names or names of family members. (As some of these features can be found on social media accounts, these would be considered weak passwords).
• Do not use simple adjacent keyboard combinations: For example, “abcxyz” and “123456.”
• Avoid using the same password across multiple websites.
• Never use the password you’ve picked for your email account at any online site (if the ecommerce site is hacked then there’s a good chance they could hack your email account).
• Don’t store your list of passwords on your computer or mobile device in plain text.

Remember, Service Credit Union will never ask you for any passwords. For more ways to stay safe online, visit our Security Center.