Online Security, Then and Now
15 years ago, life was much simpler. You
only had to remember 2 or 3 passwords — your debit
card PIN number, computer login, and email account password —
and that was pretty much it. Back then your greatest security risk was getting
your house robbed or your car stolen. Today, with the advent of social media,
e-commerce, and online banking, you face a more severe security threat than
ever before.
How
many passwords can you remember?
How Mr. Smith Paid the Price
Let's take a look at Mr. Smith, a man to
whom we can all relate. Between work and social commitments, Mr. Smith leads
a very busy life. He keeps in touch with his friends over Skype and Face-Time,
and shares his thoughts and photos on Facebook and Twitter. He manages three
personal banking accounts over the internet and does most of his shopping
online. In total, he has more than 50 online accounts, and to make life easier
(even though he's aware it's not the ideal thing to do), he uses the same
password for most of his accounts.
One day Mr. Smith goes to a new shopping
site and, as usual, he registers with the same password that he uses on most of
his other online accounts. The site is then hacked, compromising his personal
information not only on the online shopping site, as Mr. Smith would presume,
but also on all the other online accounts where he uses the same password. Does
this give hackers access to his email accounts? Or worse, his banking account?
Your Security is in Your Hands
Encryption standards and online security
have significantly improved over time, claiming to provide the most comprehensive
protection possible. But all this technology is useless if your passwords are
not strong and well protected, just as a house with strong walls isn't safe if
its locks are easy to pick.
3 Basic Security Practices to Remember
Ready for the good news? It's easy to
dramatically improve your online security by applying some simple rules:
·
Never reuse the same password
·
Use a strong password, meaning one that is 8 or
more characters and is alphanumerical (randomly generated is best)
·
Never write your passwords down
But these steps are easier said than done.
How do you manage over 50 different online accounts without writing your passwords
down?
oneSafe - Secure Password Management
oneSafe is an iOS application that allows
you to store all your confidential information — IDs and
passwords, internet accounts, bank details, confidential documents, and
personal photos — safely and easily on your iPhone and iPad. Using oneSafe's password
generator, you can create unique and strong passwords, eliminating the need to
write down your passwords ever again.
