Password Management

Passwords are now an embedded part of most Canadians lives. We have passwords for our bank and credit cards, emails and Websites, to log onto work computers, home security systems and mobile devices.

When it comes to password management, though, many users have a tendency to make their passwords easy to remember and commonly use the same password for all of their accounts. They also either forget to or do not change their passwords often enough.

This leaves people open to having their accounts hacked and their information compromised, so users need to be more diligent when it comes to password management.

Common errors that are made by people when it comes to password management

There are a number of things that users commonly do that make their password protection weaker, making it easier for hackers to access their personal and business accounts:

• Repeating passwords: One of the most common errors made by users is using their password for all of their accounts. This is dangerous because if their account is compromised, they run the risk of having all accounts exposed.
  
• Passwords that are too simple: Users often make their passwords either too short or too common and do not mix in numbers, upper case letters and punctuation to make them tough to crack.
  
• Sharing passwords: Many users make the mistake of sharing their password with too many people or send passwords in emails that can be intercepted.
  
• Password storage: Too many leave out their password information where it can be easily taken by others, such as writing it down in planners, on post its or in easy to access computer documents.

Password management software

Password management software is an effective tool that many individuals and businesses use to help users organize their passwords. In most cases, the password software is equipped with a file that stores encrypted password data to log into:

• Personal or business computers;
  
• Computer networks;
  
• Websites;
  
• Applications;
  
• Files and documents.

Password management software has a number of advantages:

• Stronger security: The software allows users to store encrypted passwords, manage access and track password usage. From a business perspective, it also helps to enforce compliance and policies.
  
• Efficiency: The software helps to improve personal and business efficiency by ensuring that users change their password on a regular basis, can manage passwords from multiple accounts, and properly share passwords with other authorized users.
  
• Better productivity: By giving constant access to passwords and the means to recover lost or forgotten passwords, the software helps users be more productive with their time.
  
• Ease: The software can be accessed via the Internet, and can produce reports and track usage.