By Greg Snyder

This article was originally published in 2024, Issue 1, of the Retiree Guardian. Newsletter of the CenturyLink Retirees.

We recently went through some password changes on our website, so I thought now would be a good time to review some options for increasing our own personal password security.

You might find some of what follows a bit of a pain in the you-know-what, but taking a few minutes to fortify your password routines could very well save your hard-earned treasures, and possibly, years of trying to recover your identity.

Let’s start with creating a password. In today’s world of constant attacks on our digital accounts, it’s an absolute must to use long and complicated passwords. Plus, you also need a unique password for each account you have. Oh great, how are we going to create, and remember, all those passwords without going bonkers?! Use a Password Safe, also called a Password Manager.

There are quite a few password safes/managers out there. You can find these software programs, and lots of recommendations for them, by doing a quick web search. They range from free to costly. Some save your passwords only on your computer or phone. Others store them securely online and offer the ability to sync all your digital devices, and more.

We need to think of our own personal situation and requirements before choosing. One of the free options that stores your information locally on your computer or phone, and may very well be the best option for you…as long as it’s highly rated.

All password safe/managers should, in my opinion, offer four basic functions.

• Enable you to create a single, strong, personal password to open your password safe.
• A password generator to create those long and difficult passwords.
• The option to “click and go“, to the website you wish to reach using a link you previously provided. (Never rely on a link sent you in an email. Look it up yourself!)
• The ability to drag-and-drop, or copy-and-paste, your username and passwords into whatever application you are accessing.

Creating that one single and strong password to open your safe is not as hard as you might think. The current standard suggests at least 12 digits containing letters – some capitalized, numbers, special characters, and it’s best not to use whole words. “Oh great, how am I going to remember that?!”

My personal suggestion would be to start with a phrase that you know well, take the first letter of each word, as least one of them capitalized, add one or more numbers, and a character or two. “My old dog scruffy has 100 fleas!” becomes “Modsh100f!”.

I know, I know, it’s not 12 digits, so perhaps “All four of my children are better than average for sure!” which, by capitalizing the a’s, making “four” and “for” into “4”’s, and including the exclamation point, it becomes the password A4omcabtA4s!” You get the idea. Stronger is better, but really, being able to remember it is key.

So, you’ve done everything above, does that give you the golden cloak of invulnerability? NO.

Beyond your control, bad actors, using brute force attacks, can still hack into institutions and corporation’s databases stealing the data of everyone who has an account with them. We see that almost weekly.

What can you do when that happens? First, immediately change your password for that account, and be very happy that you have a unique password for each and every account you have. (you do, don’t you?!)

Next, you should also immediately change the password for your email.

If you are interested, you can check to see if your email has been compromised in one of the current or previous data breaches. There are other sites out there that offer this service, but here’s one of them – https://haveibeenpwned.com/. Once at their site enter your email and they will tell you if it has been compromised – just understand that their database is NOT comprehensive.

The last step in ensuring your digital safety is using Two-Factor Authentication (TFA). TFA has become the new standard, in fact, many applications, services, and vendors now require it.

Two Factor Authentication is as easy as 1,2,3, and it works like this.

It does take an extra minute or two, but it’s well worth the time to ensure your safety online. If it’s offered to you as an option, you should use it.

Have a wild, Happy and wonderful 2024!  Turn that into a password and you get – Haw,Haw2024!