This may seem to be a given, but you should use a different password for each of your social media accounts. Don’t use the same password. The only question now is this, “How do you keep track of all those passwords?” Here’s some thoughts to help you stay safe.

Passwords usage is one of the main stumbling blocks for businesses on the Internet. They can make us mad or they can frustrate us to no end. But whatever you do with your passwords, you need a plan.

social-media-password-safety-Halifax

You have 3 options as I see it to have a different password to each social media network:

  1. Keep them on paper. But as you change them and start scratching them out, it gets really hard to tell which one is the real password. If you lose the paper, then you are in trouble. If the paper gets wet or damaged, you are in trouble. If you do use paper, you have to keep your paper in a safe place.
  2. Keep them on your smart phone. Most smart phones have some sort of password keeper. You can find one in the phones app store to download if there is not one on there already. The weakness here is that if something happens to the phone and the passwords are not backed up, you have lost the keys into your social networks. Just think how many phones have been damaged by dropping into a toilet. You need to make sure that the password keeper on your phone has a backup system so that you can recover them if your phone gets lost or stolen.
  3. Keep them in the Cloud. The Cloud enables you to access your passwords for any computer at any time. Most services require one password to get into the vault. The weakness here is that if the system is ever compromised, you are in trouble. You need to make sure that if you use a cloud based system, that they use encryption for their data.

I use the later type of system. My service uses a double encryption process of their database. This product auto-fills username and password boxes when I log in to my social networks. In many cases, I have the service generate strong passwords for me. This means in some cases, I do not even know what my passwords are, unless I go and see what they are.

Whatever method you use, you need to make sure it is safe and that you can get into your social networks quickly and safely. You cannot waste time going for password resets all the time. You need a system that works for you. What will you choose to keep your social media network passwords safe?

So take some time to think about how you are handling your passwords. If you have one password for all your social networks, you are asking for trouble. If you have any questions, please ask me.

So here’s to a great day of business for you.