Each year on the first Thursday in May, World Password Day promotes better password habits. Passwords are critical gatekeepers to our digital identities, allowing us to access online shopping, banking, social media, private work, and most of our daily lives.

In a cyber world, secure passwords are important. Other than keeping your information offline, long, unique and complex passwords protect your valuable information best. Another tactic is changing your passwords every few months or any time you think your accounts have been compromised. Using personal information as the basis for your passwords is awfully tempting, but it's a bad idea. Whether your dog’s name is Rover or Khaleesi, that name probably appears in the dictionaries hackers use for brute-force attacks.

Tips to keep your online accounts secure:

• change an old password to a long, strong one ideally with a special character and easy to remember
• turn on two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication for your important accounts if available
• password protect your WIFI
• don’t store passwords on your phone or where they can be easily found
• try to have different passwords for different accounts
• use a password manager if possible
• log off when you’re done with a program
• periodically remove temporary internet files

#WorldPassWordDay #StayInternetSafeSubletteCounty #KeepItSecure #SCSO