How many different passwords do you actually have? If you’re part of the 59% majority, you reuse passwords across different accounts. Or maybe you just use the same password everywhere, like 13% of people according to a 2019 Google study.
Here’s the problem: sites get breached constantly. When one does, your password and email end up in a giant list that hackers pass around. They then set up automated tools to try that combination everywhere, your LUC account, email, bank, social media, everything.
Think of your password as a key to your house. Now imagine that same key also opened your car, your office and your gym locker. One key for everything sounds great, until someone copies it. Then they have access to everything all at once. That’s exactly what happens when you reuse the same password (or variations of it) for all your online accounts.
The fix is a password manager. It automatically creates a different, strong password for every single account. You set the length, choose which special characters you want and that’s it. For example, the password I just created with Bitwarden “5&&o&b^wM!@oV9” would take centuries to crack. Compare that to any one of the top 200 passwords which would take less than a second to crack. Another great thing about password managers is that you never have to remember to type another password again. The manager autofills them for you! You just need to memorize one strong password to open the keychain.
So, this week, set up a password manager. My favorite is Bitwarden which is free and works great for students. Faculty and staff at Loyola also have access to 1Password through ITS. Some browsers like Chrome and Safari have their own built-in password managers. While those are better than nothing, a dedicated manager is stronger. All it takes is a half hour of your day and your online accounts are much safer. While you’re at it, head over to haveibeenpwned.com and type in your email. It’ll show you every breach your info has been in. It’s a bit scary, but it’s a good wake up call.
Future you will be very grateful.