Visits to older relatives in my family often turn into unpaid tech consulting sessions where I’m educating them about how to use and manage passwords. It doesn’t seem like a visit goes by where one of the older folks in my family walks over to their desk or kitchen table and pulls out a notebook where all of their passwords are conveniently written down. Ugh.

And of course, the actual passwords used are both simple… names and birthdates of family members… as well as repetitious. It’s honestly a miracle that I haven’t seen someone’s accounts get wiped out. Here’s an article that I am writing where I am pleading with family and friends to better manage their passwords as well as how.

How To Generate A Password

There are 5 unique characteristics of a strong password:

1. Length – You’ll want to always have a password that’s at least 12 characters.
2. Mixed Case – You’ll want to include both upper and lower case characters throughout.
3. Numbers – You’ll want to include numbers in your password.
4. Special Characters – You’ll want to include special characters in your password.

Need some help? When this page loaded, we actually generated this unique password for you between 15 and 20 characters:

Password: oO]fN(yK?tX+kO;oZ=

Generate New Password

Password Management Tips

Please use two-factor authentication, and unique passwords for every platform, and store them in a secure application. Here are some explanations and options:

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – virtually every platform now offers a means for you to use a password in combination with real-time code that’s generated by email, by text message, or with an authenticator app.
• Password Vault – If you’re on an Apple device, you can store all of your passwords securely in iCloud. This is a fantastic way to manage passwords because you can pick a strong, unique password for every service you have but you don’t have to remember them. Just use Safari and your Apple device will pre-fill the passwords. An alternative on Google is to use Google Chrome as your browser. As long as you’re logged into Google on your browser, your passwords are available across any device you’re logged into Google with.
• Password Apps – Mobile and desktop applications like LastPass allow you to store every password securely in their platform. They have browser plugins and mobile apps to help you retrieve them or pre-fill password fields. Another nice feature of these platforms is that they typically have an emergency contact that can gain access to your passwords in the event of an emergency.
• Suggested Passwords – Password vaults and applications offer suggested passwords that are difficult to guess either manually or programmatically. I’d encourage you to always use and store a suggested password rather than writing your own.
• Don’t Share – Do not share your password with anyone. As a business, you should be utilizing enterprise platforms that enable you to create users who have limited access with their own passwords.
• Change Your Passwords – Periodically changing your passwords can help increase their strength and protect your accounts. Some security experts recommend changing your passwords every few months or so.

Disclosure: Martech Zone is an affiliate of LastPass and we are using our affiliate link in this article.

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