Creating a strong password is an essential step to protecting yourself online. Do not include personal information in your password such as your name or pets’ names. This information is often easy to find on social media, making it easier for cybercriminals to hack your accounts.

Services such as Gmail and Office 365 often require app passwords when you connect them to other applications. Adding your webmail address to a mail client is a classic example. These app passwords are different from the main passwords for the accounts they correspond to. You can generate them on each account setting page and […]

Use the strongest, longest password or passphrase permitted. Don’t use passwords that attackers can easily guess, like your birthday or your child’s name. Attackers can use software to conduct dictionary attacks, which try common words that may be used as passwords. They also conduct brute force attacks, which are random password attempts that run until […]

Passwords are a pain. Not only do they need to be sufficiently complex to thwart a potential attacker’s brute-force guessing, they must also be memorable enough that you don’t end up having to request a reset each time you forget your login. The most common DIY solution to this problem is to simply recycle the […]

Data breaches are common occurrences these days. It’s possible and perhaps likely that one of your accounts has been compromised. But how would you know if that’s the case? Often, the service in question will send you an official notice disclosing the breach. You can also use sites like BreachAlarm, LifeLock or Have I Been […]

You probably use a number of personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords every day: from getting money from the ATM or using your debit card in a store, to logging in to your email or into an online retailer. Keeping track of all of the number, letter, and word combinations may be frustrating at times, but […]