Password joke: It’s a familiar joke, and it comes it all types of variations. Your password must have an uppercase letter, punctuation, a number, a special character and a haiku. You finally figure out the perfect password, and it turns out, you have already used that one before. Then, before you know it, anxiety sets in again when you get the dreaded email that your password is about to expire. The password routine can be mentally draining especially when you have multiple usernames and passwords for every aspect of your life.

Now, it may be tempting to keep lists and lists of usernames and passwords whether around your desk or in your computer. However, doing so, can lead to your passwords and even identity being stolen. The best practice, according to McAfee, is to keep tip sheets or cheat sheets to your passwords. Rather than writing out the actual password, leave yourself a hint. If you must write down your password, don’t make it obvious. Keep it mixed in with other papers around your desk.[1]

There are apps that allow you to log in with one password in order to access your entire list of passwords. The temptation here being you only need to remember one great password to access all of your other passwords. While it might seem like a great idea to use an app to manage all your passwords, your security might be at risk there too. Apps like these can be hacked, and users’ passwords stolen. It has happened multiple times before, and it will probably happen again. Instead of just one password being compromised, all of them can be stolen at once.

Password security is one of aspect of our daily lives, both personal and work related, which will not be removed any time soon in this digital world. However, taking steps to keep our passwords private and strong can help ensure our online safety.

[1] https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/consumer/family-safety/15-tips-to-better-password-security/