Back when the most we had was our banking information & a single email account. It wasn’t that hard to remember our passwords. Plus, we were all new to the concept of hacking, & tons of websites accepted passwords like “1234.” Now, most websites will prompt you to use a combination of numbers, letters, & special characters when creating a new password. Plus, it’s advisable to use a unique password for every account you manage, making it much harder to learn how to remember your passwords.
According to digital experts, a recent study found that 78% of internet users forget their passwords & head for the “reset” button.
Read on to learn a few different methods to remember your passwords so that you don’t have to constantly reset them–which is only jumbling your memory more!
The Importance of a Unique Password
We tend to assume that hacking is only something that occurs to those with a lot of money or an important, highly classified job. However, given that an estimated 2.5 billion user accounts got hacked in 2018, we’re here to let you know that it can happen to anyone. That includes you.
Here’s the problem. Anything that is easier for you to remember (like your birthdate, for example) is easy for a hacker to guess. In fact, if you’re relying on the same bits of information–a pet’s name, an old street address, or your mother’s maiden name, for example–it won’t take that much work to get into all of your accounts.
Instead, you’re going to want to create completely unique passwords for all of your accounts. Remember those temporary passwords websites make for you when you first create an account, the ones that look like total gibberish? You’re going to want to make passwords that look a whole lot like that.
So, what are you going to do to remember all of these jumbled letters, numbers, & special characters?
How to Remember Your Passwords
Don’t expect that you can rely on the ole’ noggin for these complicated passwords you’re (hopefully) going to start creating. Even if you were one of those kids who learned how to recite the alphabet backward, you’re still going to struggle with this kind of recall.
Instead, follow our steps to keep track of passwords safely & consistently.
Step 1: Find the Ones You’ve Forgotten
Alright, first thing’s first. It’s time to remember all of the important passwords you’ve forgotten.
There are a few ways that you can do this. A lot of your day-to-day technology has probably been keeping track of them for you and there are actually ways to unlock that information.
If you use Google Chrome, you’ve been prompted with the Google Smart Lockbox every time you’ve logged into a new account. If you’ve enjoyed relying on the auto-login function, you’re going to find a ton of your passwords there. Open the Chrome menu on the upper right side, go to Settings, & select Password to see all of the passwords you’ve saved to Google.
Some of your passwords aren’t as easy to find but there are still solutions. For example, your WiFi password won’t be in Google Smart Lock because you never enter it into your web browser. If you’re using a Mac, you can learn how to find a saved Wifi password on Mac here.
Step 2: Stop Using Sticky Notes (and Other Old Methods)
For those of us who are a little more old school, it can be tempting to use old school methods. That includes a piece of notebook paper or sticky notes, both of which you’re bound to lose. It also includes documents saved to a single hard drive or the notes application on your smartphone.
There are a few reasons why these old school (but still technological) methods aren’t a great idea. The first is that if you save your passwords to a single source like your laptop or your smartphone, you can only access them when you have those things on hand. Plus, if your device crashes or kicks the bucket for good, you’ve just lost all of your passwords.
The second reason is that Word documents, Excel sheets, & the notes application on your smartphone aren’t encrypted. They’re easy to access & chances are, they’re not password-protected themselves! If someone gets ahold of your laptop or phone, they’ve also gotten ahold of your banking information, your email login, & more.
So what should you do now that you’ve ditched these outdated methods of password cracking?
Step 3: Get Yourself a Password Manager
It’s time to get tech-savvy here. There are a number of safe password managers that you can access from your phone, laptop, or any other internet-connected device. That means that you can access your password anywhere you go and all you need to remember is one single password.
Choosing a password manager can be difficult. Do you want to spend money on them? Do you know that you can definitely trust their security?
A few worth mentioning are KeePass2, Secrets, & LastPass. These password managers are well-reviewed & trustworthy. Plus they’re free & easy to use, which means no hidden fees & no steep learning curve!
Once you’ve chosen a password manager & gotten it all set up, consider reexamining some of those old passwords. Are they really that safe to use? Now that you have a password manager, you can replace all those easy-to-hack letter & number combinations with something unique & complicated.
Keep Track of Your Passwords and Secure Your Information
Once you know how to remember your passwords–something 78% of people also struggles with–you can start cracking down on your own cybersecurity. Don’t worry about memorizing & create unique passwords that no hacker will ever crack!
Looking for other ways to improve your online presence & boost yourself or your business? Take a look at some of our other posts on digital marketing, tech, & more.
