Protecting our information is a crucial behavior in today’s information-driven age. According to the Department of State, cybercrime causes about $4 billion in damages every year.
No matter what age you are, the need to keep your information safe is paramount. But how can you ensure digital privacy for elderly users? It all starts with the ability to create strong passwords and prioritize senior online safety.
If you’re curious about password security tips, we’re here to help. Read on for a quick overview of why a strong password is important. We’ll look at some of the ways you ensure your internet safety while living in Spring, Texas.
Why Bother to Create Strong Passwords?
To start, why does this matter? Can’t you use some sort of antivirus or security measure that makes a password irrelevant?
You can get a security system for your gate, but that doesn’t mean you leave it unlocked. The same applies to your online accounts and electronics. Think of a password as the lock on a door, no matter what else you may have keeping it safe.
Weak passwords often leave a vulnerability. According to Security.org, about 38% of Americans have their password cracked or guessed every year. Ensuring you have a strong password makes sure you end up in the other 62%.
Protect Your Information
The first reason to keep your password strong is to keep your information safe. Most often when someone breaks into your accounts or devices, it’s to get access to your information.
Breaking into your email isn’t just an invasion of your privacy. It also gives the hacker the ability to find information such as:
- Your address and contact information
- Your professional contacts and family information
- Your passwords to other things that you’ve kept written there
- Your daily habits or what information you interact with
- Your SSN and other vital information
Your email is only one example, while social media is another common issue. Think of all the information you have stored behind a password. All of it is vulnerable to a guessed or cracked password.
Maintain Your Identity
Identity theft is also an enormous issue with password security. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, almost 24 million Americans were subject to identity theft in a given year.
Guessing your password is one of the easiest ways for hackers to assume your identity. Messages sent from your accounts will make others assume they’re from you, for example.
Avoid Confusion
Weak passwords can often cause you to struggle to remember them. You may have the same password being used for some sites but different ones for others.
Having a secure password will help you keep your passwords separate. That’s a great way to spend less time trying to guess which password you’re using for which site.
How to Create Secure Passwords
Now that we better understand the benefit of a good password, how do you create strong passwords? While it can seem difficult if you don’t have much experience with tech, it’s quite simple.
Here are our main tips to create secure passwords and secure senior online safety.
Change Passwords Frequently
The first thing that you’ll hear many people say is to change passwords frequently. But why?
The longer a password exists, the more chances there are that it’s been leaked, datamined, or otherwise compromised. When that happens, the password is no longer safe to use.
Some online programs can give you a warning if your password is compromised. Google Chrome, for example, has a built-in feature that can warn you if your password was found in a leak.
How often should you change passwords? That’s up to the individual!
It’s a good idea to change your password every six months or so. Many jobs will make their employees change their password at least this frequently.
If that feels too often, you can change it once a year. But if you ever are notified that your password was leaked or compromised, you’ll need to change it immediately.
Use Different Passwords
Another common mistake for users is to use the same password for everything. When this occurs, the issue is rather obvious: if someone finds out your password for one of your ten sites, now they can access all ten sites!
Using different passwords is one of the best ways to ensure internet safety for seniors. You should have a unique password for every site.
You should also try to avoid themes. If all of your passwords are the same word with a different number, it’s still easy to guess or otherwise crack into.
Use unique words, numbers, and a combination of special characters for the best results. These are much harder to guess.
Longer Passwords Are Safer
One great way to make sure your passwords are harder to guess is to make them longer. It’s a simple calculus: guessing 15 characters in a password is harder than guessing 5.
That isn’t to say every password needs to be an entire sentence. Try keeping your passwords between 8 and 12 characters. Adding special characters like underscores or punctuation can also help.
Consider a Password Manager
Are all the passwords starting to give you a headache? Using a manager is one of the best password security tips.
A password manager will keep your passwords tracked for you. Because of that, it’s also something you’ll need to keep exceptionally safe. If someone manages to access your password manager, they’d have all of them.
Most password managers are incredibly secure for this reason. You can also write them down yourself if you’re more comfortable doing so. Make sure that you don’t lose wherever you’ve written them and keep this list updated.
Ensuring Digital Privacy for Elderly Users
The ability to create strong passwords is crucial in the information age. Keep your passwords unique and organized so that you can easily access them when you need them.
At Conservatory at Champion Forest, we’re dedicated to giving you the best senior living community in Spring, Texas. We focus on independence and healthy living while also providing you with socialization and proper care. Come be our guest to see if we’re the right choice for you.
