Business Security: Top 5 Password Tips
I’m sure you’ve heard it all before make sure you set a secure password or something similar but behind the repetitive phrase is a much more serious message which is often ignored or not appreciated. This post looks at the often-neglected world of password security and offers some tips.
Tip #1 – Security through Obscurity
The most important part of internet security is the password itself, make it as secure as possible by using a mix of letters, numbers, special characters (!,#,@{&*)in a random order. Totally avoid including your name, business, address, postcode, telephone numbers or anything that your would-be attacker could already know. There are some great sites out there which offer password generators so you can set what characters you want, password length etc.
Tip #2 – Security through Separation
It’s always a good idea to keep all your passwords separate – this means not having the same password on more than one of your accounts. The reason behind this is simply to limit any damage should the worst happen and an account is breached, at least your would-be exploiter can only access one account with the password he has, not all of them!
Tip #3 – Don’t give it all away
Your bank always tells you not to ever give out your account, sort code, card details or PIN out, well the same applies even more so to passwords. Your password in most cases is the only verification method before allowing access to your account so never give it out to anyone – anybody asking is probably doing so for the wrong reasons.
Tip #4 – Email
Sadly in this age of trickery and technology you can never be too sure – received an email you weren’t expecting or one that tells you your account is closed, suspended, otherwise engaged? It’s common for internet based criminals to send such emails and direct you to a page which is designed to look like the account you’re trying to access – this is called phishing. Want our advice? Leave those emails well alone and always check the address bar – that bar at the top of your browser where you enter the website you want. Is it recognisable? Are any attachments in unfamiliar formats? Ask yourself these questions if you have any suspicions.
Tip #5 – Storage
I know, it’s all quite difficult remembering all those pesky unique passwords – as with most things there’s an app for that somewhere. I’m not going to recommend any personally but there are plenty of password managers out there, but bear in mind those that use browsers or desktop applications without any verification are just as easy to exploit if your machine is stolen, lost or otherwise accessed so choose carefully with this in mind.
Did you know?
Skyline has some great security features already built-in, so you can have total peace of mind. Our features include standard password complexity rules, three step verification on forgotten passwords and each user has a security answer and question to prevent unwanted password resets.
