Can you guess it?
It’s 1forrest1.
Badum-tish!
Sorry, I know it’s a bit of a silly joke but I can't help being reminded of when clients share passwords with me that are scarily similar. When this happens (and it happens a lot), I tend break out in cold sweats and start hyperventilating.
Using simple passwords is the equivalent of leaving your car doors open at night, with the windows down, the keys in the ignition, parked in a dark alley hoping thieves will ignore it. You just wouldn’t, would you?
I get that it can be a bit of a pain in the proverbial using password managers and authentication apps, but believe me when I say, that pain is nothing in comparison to knowing some unsavoury character has access to your accounts. Do you know every account you own? Could you access them all quickly to change your logins? The best advice I can give is - don’t let them get that far.
The sad reality is that data breaches are commonplace these days and assuming your data and password is in safe hands is very risky. It is not a matter of if but when a password you own will get compromised.
So, here’s what I advise as the bare minimum steps you should take to keep your business safe online:
Use a password manager to handle and store your passwords, we use Lastpass.
Use the ‘generate password’ tool in your password manager to generate secure and unique passwords.
Use a different password for EVERY account so when one is compromised you know your other accounts are safe.
Add 2-factor authentication to all your key accounts (such as your email, accounting software, financial apps etc). Ideally, you use it for every online account. Check out our latest Quick Tip on how to set up an authenticator app.
Following these steps may feel like overkill, but once in place it quickly becomes second nature. And in my humble opinion, this is a small price to pay for your sanity and your business’ reputation.