We look at why a bad password can ruin your day – and how a password manager can help you. Read the blog/watch the video – and don’t just do nothing about it; we’re all guilty of sticking our heads in the sand at times over cyber security but cyber criminals target just such complacency …

First off: passwords really are a terrible invention. You have too many of them, they’re impossible to remember, you frequently have to change them and what’s more, they are one of the main reasons for successful cyber attacks. We explain more in our video here:

Why you need a password manager

In a recent survey, 17% of respondents said they would prefer to do their tax return and 9% would rather have dental surgery than create unique passwords for all their accounts. This probably says it all! So what can you do to protect the cyber security of your online accounts?

Microsoft, Google and some of the other big technology companies are working fast to remove the need for passwords from their systems. They know that many, many people (even those who handle sensitive or valuable data) continue to have bad habits like:

  • Having the same password for more than one system or website.
  • Using easy to guess passwords.
  • Saving passwords on work documents or Excel sheets on their computer.
  • Sending passwords over email or text message.
  • Telling passwords to other people or sharing them.

All these practices will eventually lead to a criminal discovering your password, which will result in a breach of your systems. Your clients will find out about it, possibly the Information Commissioner’s Office – and you may lose customers, receive fines and suffer your bank funds being stolen.

In other words it will cost you substantial amounts of money and put your business at risk.

And your IT department or IT support company will not be able to do a great deal when this happens!

So, hopefully passwords will soon become a thing of the past.

But in the meantime, the only workable way to address this problem is to use a password manager. There are many on the market and even the least expensive is better than nothing (watch they are genuine sites though!).

If you don’t know how to get started, get in touch with us about our password management service and we will do it all for you. Contact us on the form below or call 0330 124 3599.