Strong Passwords, Stronger Security: Happy World Password Day!

Today, on World Password Day, let’s pause to rethink one of the simplest but most critical parts of online safety: our passwords.

As we highlight in our Citizen’s Digital Security guide, even though many of us know the basics, we often skip them out of habit or convenience. But with data breaches and cyberattacks on the rise, securing your passwords has never been more important.

Here are Wizer’s five essential tips to having a strong password:

• Skip the Personal Info: Birthdays, names, and addresses are too easy to guess.
  
  
• Make It Long and Strong: Use at least 12 characters, mixing upper/lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. 15 characters makes it even stronger.
  
  
• Don’t Reuse Passwords: If one account gets breached, others could follow.
  
  
• Use a Password Manager: Apps like KeePass, Bitwarden, and 1Password can create and store strong passwords securely.
  
  
• Lie on Security Questions: False answers are harder for hackers to uncover than the truth.
  
  

It can seem overwhelming but passwords don’t have to be hard to remember (really!). The key is making them long, unique and NOT easy-to-guess. Using passphrases (while using the guide above) is a great method for generating strong passwords that you can remember. 

What is a passphrase? Check out our quick video tip below:

Already keeping these best practices? You are in the elite few, but you can help change that! Share this with your friends & family to make sure they are, too! 

Let’s make everyone more secure this World Password Day.