Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully the week has been kind to you, and the weekend ahead looks bright. To round out this week, we thought we’d look into safety. Specifically, your internet security. While having a password on your computer can be seen as a nuisance, it is an important step to have in protecting yourself. More than that, it is important to keep your password strong. It could be easy to set it as “password”, “abc123”, or even just a blank space. However, that can leave your personal information up for grabs by not-very-nice people. Here are some ways you can keep yourself safe from the internet’s darker realm.
One of the best ways to keep passwords secure is to have different ones for different accounts. Having only one can make it easy for someone to have access to EVERYTHING. Ensure each account has a different password, and keep a small password journal so you don’t lose it. Ensure that each password has some combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Try not to use easy to guess number combinations, such as your birthday. Instead, try a random selection that is still easy for you to remember.
Keeping up with your security is also important. If you ever receive an email or notification saying there was an attempted log in or security breach, immediately change your password. This can save you from a potential breach in privacy. Always check your emails and keep up to date. If you want to be even more thorough, change your passwords every few months. It pays to be thorough.
When you want to create a new password, make sure to shy away from using personal information (surname, maiden names, etc.), or phrases from a dictionary (sunshine, etc.). Instead, go for a phrase that you can remember, and then simplify it to fit a password. change words like ‘at’ to @, capitalize certain letters, and use other symbols like underscores _ or hashtags, #. This will keep things harder to guess.
A last kernel of wisdom: If you have to log into an account on a public computer, always make sure to not save any passwords to the browser. Always make sure to log off of anything, and ensure nothing is left when you leave the computer. A good rule of thumb is to use incognito mode or private browsing before logging in. This won’t save any kind of data onto the browser, keeping your information safe. And just like using an ATM card, make sure no one is watching you type any of the info in.
We hope this is an informative blog! Keeping our clients protected is important to us as we help you through the mortgage journey. As ever, we are here for you at the Vermont Mortgage Company. Give us a call at 802-863-2020, or visit our website!
