Monday, August 01, 2016

Best Practices for the Security of Online Accounts

Regularly you can read about the online accounts being compromised. Here are the practices I use to keep them safe.

- Follow the best practices to keep your devices from getting malware. Here is a good guide. I do not add antivirus to our mobile devices though.

- From that same article, "Use passwords on everything and be sure that they're strong passwords: Do not use the same password for everything. Do not use easy-to-guess passwords. Use strong passwords that are at least eight characters in length and include capitals, numbers, and alternate characters. Password protect everything: Devices, email, VPN, anything that you don't want shared with others. Be paranoid and change your passwords often."

Treat your email password as the key of all your keys. Almost every other account allows you to reset you passwords by sending a unique link to your email address. I also enable 2-factor authentication.

- Use Two-Factor Authentication on the accounts you care most about. Just like you use your credit card and something you know, like your signature or your pin or zip code, two factor authentication makes your accounts more secure.

- Use a password manager. Make sure your master password is bullet proof and easy to remember.