We’ve all been there, signing up for an account on a website, forced to follow specific guidelines creating a password, and then we opt for an easy-to-remember password we already use for a half-dozen other website. We’re only human, and it’s so easy to do. What could really go wrong?
Unfortunately, a lot could go wrong. And, recent trends in internet privacy are making it all the more likely that your simple or reused passwords could be used against you. 81% of confirmed breaches occurred on accounts that had weak, reused, or stolen passwords. More and more account details are getting picked up by hackers as well.
When Yahoo was breached, over 3 billion people were affected. A recent breach of MyFitnessPal affected over 150 million accounts. Lately, massive data breaches seem to be about as common as weak, recycle passwords, and both are bad news for your online security. With banking, taxes, messaging, business, and so much of our private lives tied to online accounts, web security is something none of us can afford to ignore.
The first step to improving your online security in the face of these risks is simple: a good password. It’s not just one good password though. You can have the most elaborate password in the world, but if you use it on many websites and just one of them is breached, your security everywhere else is compromised. That’s why all of your accounts should have unique passwords.
Of course, in the digital era, we all have so many accounts, it would be nearly impossible to have strong, unique passwords for every site. That’s why so many of choose weak or reused passwords. It’s just simpler that way.
But, there’s another option that provides both simplicity and security. Password managers like LastPass can create strong, unique passwords for every account you use on the web. They’ll also remember all the passwords for you. All you need to do is come up with a strong password to use with the password manager. When you go to log into an account online, you’ll just sign into your password manager, and it will handle the rest.
Password managers don’t just make it easier to get secure either. They also make it easier to maintain that security. With a password manager, a single breach at one website won’t put you at risk elsewhere. Since every password is unique, hackers won’t be able to take the password they’ve found and use it elsewhere. Better still, you can easily update the password for the affected account with a new, strong one that you don’t need to remember either.
Password managers like LastPass truly take all the fuss out of online security. You don’t need to contrive complex passwords for every website. You don’t need to remember all the passwords you create. And, they make it so much easier to regularly change all of your passwords. You won’t be wondering if the password you’re typing in is current, a month old, or a year old. Your password manager will put it in for you.
LastPass is one of the most popular password managers available, with 13 million users. It offers different packages, including LastPass Premium for personal use and LastPass Family to ensure online security for the whole family. LastPass works on desktops and smartphones, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of typing and retyping your passwords in mobile apps. It makes it easy to sign in anytime, anywhere without any sacrifices in your online security.
The next time you need to create a password, don’t take the easy way out and reuse an old one. Instead, consider another easy way out that actually improves your security, and give LastPass a try.
