“I use the same password for everything, how can I expect to remember all these different logins otherwise?” Does this sound familiar? Many folks use the same practices for internet security that were employed during the 90s, but what we use the internet for in today’s modern economy is too crucial to follow outdated practices like this. At Fred’s Appliance Academy, we teach the basics of appliance repair and that includes discussing how to keep yourself secure in this online world.
Just think about the number of websites that you and your business deal with. You need a login and password for the following:
The list goes on and on and it’s not going to get any simpler. Many of you may scoff at the idea of needing to care as long as you don’t use online features. “I call my part orders in” or “I do not bank online”. That’s fine but you are still at risk whether you want to participate or not. Your banking information is online, your credit card information, your warranty claims, and your part orders are all stored online. All that information is available to hackers, again whether you agree to use those services or not.
Let’s lay out a scenario that has happened already. You have a credit card with Target. You decide not to use any online features but Target as a company gets hacked. What hackers tend to do is seize login information. They are banking on the fact that you use the same login and passwords for other accounts. Once they have your “master password”, they start trying to use it on other websites, like your bank or social media accounts or your email. This is how an identity gets stolen and the ones that most at risk are the folks who do not use online features. They are not getting notifications that someone just accessed their online account or being alerted that money has moved from one account to another until it’s too late. Now you have an uphill battle to recover anything that was stolen along with proving your identity to each account that is affected.
So what do you do? Panic? Depends. If you use the same password on everything, I would panic a bit. Do you know how many online accounts you have? I don’t. Too many to remember.
Time to setup a password manager. Nothing is 100% secure but you need to work with a company who has a vested interest in keeping your data secure. Companies like Lastpass can help for as little as $1 a month per user.
The video below shows the process of onboarding employees:
So what happens if LastPass gets hacked? Good question. As I already mentioned, nothing is 100% secure but I would rather have a team of professionals who deal with online security daily deal with a hack then try to deal with it myself. But getting a password manager setup is just the first step. Check out our next post in regards to online security in the coming weeks as we discuss the next step in securing your online presence with two-step authentication.
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