BITS Tip: Simple Password Security!

Passwords.  The bane of every office worker's existence!  We all need to keep in mind, however, that passwords are an essential security measure that protects our personal information.  They are especially important in highly privacy sensitive offices such as medical or dental offices where access to patient records is secured by… you guessed it, passwords!  Even at home, passwords on our computers keep away the prying eyes of visitors and protect our personal information online at the websites we visit.

There are two simple things we recommend doing with your passwords to make sure your private information stays private.

First, it is important to use separate passwords for sensitive websites such as online banking and credit cards.  That way, if one website is compromised, all your other logins are safe because they use different passwords.  Second, use passwords that are easy for you to remember but difficult for hackers to guess.  It's okay to use words or phrases that you can easily remember, but put a special random character in the middle to make it hard for hackers to guess.  For example, instead of using the password "BlueGenie", use something like "=Blue=Genie".

Click here for Part 2, where we'll tell you why a simple thing like that can foil a hacker's attempts to break into your bank account!