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In the last few years, we’ve written quite a lot about online security in this space.
One of the keys to security is to use secure passwords. Since really good passwords can be difficult to remember, password managers are really useful, and we’ve reviewed a few, including LastPass (which is being acquired by LogMeIn) and KeePass.
But secure passwords aren’t enough; it’s also important to change your master password regularly and to use two-factor authentication whenever that’s available (as I learned when LastPass got hacked this summer).
A downside to using a password manager (for me, at least) is that it’s easy to become complacent; since the software generates secure passwords for me, I don’t think very often about changing them. Yet even secure passwords should be changed regularly.
Fortunately, I recently spotted a tool in LastPass that would check whether I had any compromised, weak, duplicate, or really old passwords. It found several, including some for accounts that I hadn’t touched in years (and in some cases, didn’t even remember that I had). I updated passwords as needed, and closed some inactive accounts. No doubt other password managers have similar tools.
From now on, running a check on my passwords will be part of my end-of-semester routine.
Do you have a favorite password manger? Are there other steps you routinely take to keep yourself secure online? Let us know in the comments.
[Creative Commons licensed photo by Flickr user FutUndBeidl]