Change your passwords on Password Day

If you haven’t changed your passwords recently, today is a great day to do it. Why? Because it’s Password Day.

Need another reason? The Federal Trade Commission says there are three. Regularly updating your passwords can help prevent:

• Hacked accounts.
• Identity theft.
• Stolen money or unauthorized charges.

Aditi Jhaveri, consumer education specialist for the FTC, said it's more than changing the password for your email account. Consider updating passwords for other accounts, too — such as your bank, credit card, utility, and social media accounts. If you use a password manager, select a unique, strong password for it, too.

Here are tips for creating passwords:

• Use a different password for each account. That way, if it gets stolen — either from you or one of the sites where you use it — someone won’t be able to take over all of your accounts.

• Get creative. Mix letters, numbers, and special characters. Never use your name or birthdate.

• Use 12 characters if you can, but no less than 10. The longer the password, the tougher it is to crack.

If you want to learn more about protecting your computer and personal information online, see the FTC's article on computer security. If you think your email account was hacked, watch this video on what to do.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

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