The Unites States Postal Service was recently breached, compromising over 60 million users and another announcement today that 500 million of Marriott's client data was stolen. It seems that data breaches are a regular occurrence. So how do you protect yourself? Typically the first step is to change your password for the affected website and to other sites that you may have used the same password. This can be an overwhelming
One suggestion that we ask our clients to consider is a password manager. There are numerous versions of password managers, some free, some paid versions and we encourage you to explore the differences.
I personally use Dashlane and am very satisfied with the ease of use and the proactive alerts I receive to protect my data. For instance, when a username or password I use has been associated with a website that has been compromised, I am alerted to change my password. With a few clicks, my password is changed and I can continue with my online activities.
On a regular basis, I am reminded to change my passwords due to them being outdated or that they aren't strong enough. With Dashlane, I am able to have very strong passwords (i.e. 13+ characters in length including numbers and symbols) and I don't have to remember them and more importantly, I am not writing them down or storing them in my phone.
I sound like a commercial for Dashlane but when I find something I am confident about, I am happy to share and hope that it helps people.
Safe Surfing,
Brian