PasswordSecurity.info and HaveIBeenPwned.com can securely check the strength and security of a password you are using or thinking of using. If either site finds your password has been compromised, i.e., already posted by/for hackers in an online data breach, then change it immediately and never use it again! HaveIBeenPwned.com explains why you should never reuse the same password for multiple accounts. PasswordSecurity.info may find that your password has not been exposed in a data breach, but still offer suggestions for strengthening it, such as maximizing character variety (use upper and lower case letters and numbers and special characters) and password length (longer is better). The site estimates the time required for a brute force automated attack to guess your password, but I’m not sure that includes the latest NSA tools, so take it with a grain of salt.
You want your bank and email accounts to be very secure, because if a hacker gets online access to your bank account, he can transfer your money elsewhere, and if he gets into your email account, he can request a password reset for your bank account by pretending he forgot it, receive a password reset link in your (now his) email account, and gain access to your money. Treat your email account as the key to your kingdom.
1Password and LastPass are both great password managers for generating and storing the longest, strongest, most random, unguessable passwords for your accounts. You can also save credit card, medical and other sensitive information in these secure databases, but password management is the critical feature for securing your online assets. I prefer 1Password on my and Varya’s Macs, iPhones and iPads, and love that 1Password is able to use FaceID on my iPad Pro. Check them both out, pick one and use it!
I recently convinced my wife that using simple passwords on multiple accounts puts her at greater risk, as one compromised account could be a door to more accounts, which puts us both at greater risk. Similar to using vaccines, protecting yourself helps protect others. So, please use long, strong, unique passwords and password management software, and if one of the above sites finds that one of your passwords has been compromised, change it immediately!
Moonday 