How to Make Your Passwords as Secure as Possible

You may be shocked to learn that your organization is regularly under threat of being hacked. Thus, it is extremely imperative that you have an idea of how to keep unauthorized users out of your network and out of your applications. Passwords are usually the last (only) line of defense against all types of threats; you need to make them as secure as possible to alleviate the threat in any way you can. Let Macro Systems walk you through this process.

How to Create a Safe Password

The most secure passwords are ones that are easy to remember while being difficult to guess. Moreover, they need to include both upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. The issue is that these security measures make the password hard to remember, making it an inconvenience whenever you have to use it. The best way to make sure this doesn’t become an issue is to use what are called passphrases, or alphanumeric phrases that are designed to be easy to remember while still maintaining security standards.

Making too many passwords that are complex or difficult to remember means that any progress you’re trying to make could be stopped before it even begins. There are solutions like the password manager that make “remembering” your passwords much easier. Password managers assign one complex password as the “gatekeeper” password, making it that the only one you’ll need to know to access your secure database of passwords is the gatekeeper.

Two-Factor Authentication

Passwords are most efficient when there is a secondary method of authentication that can guarantee the authenticity of the one plugging in the password. Two-factor authentication is a way of guaranteeing this authenticity. A passcode can be sent to a mobile device via a text message or phone call, or a biometric code like a thumbprint or face scanning software can detect the user’s identity. Regardless of what the method is, a two-factor authentication solution makes it less likely that a hacker will be able to hack your account, as it means they either need to do twice the work or get their hands on a device that’s connected to the account. More often than not, they’ll see it as something that’s just not worth the effort.

Macro Systems wants your organization to take password security seriously. To learn more about password management tools and two-factor authentication, reach out to us at 703-359-9211.