In an attempt to prevent access to our personal information, we’ve had to create stronger, complicated passwords for each account that are ideally “hack-proof.” Not only is this a difficult process, but it’s also been recommended that we change our passwords frequently — sometimes every 60 days. However, changing our passwords this frequently isn’t beneficial for us, nor does it make our accounts and information more secure.

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Bad Password Habits
If you’re told to change your password for an account multiple times per year, you’re more likely to create “bad” passwords. Instead of putting in enough effort to create a strong password, you might minimally change a current password by altering a number, adding a different symbol, or else changing a lowercase letter to an uppercase letter. Add in the fact that you probably have at least a dozen different accounts that require passwords. If you change your passwords for all of these accounts too frequently, you’re not only making everything harder for yourself in terms of memorization, but you’re making those accounts less secure.

How Often You Should Change Your Password
Changing your password once (or twice) per year should be sufficient. If you change your password more frequently than that, such as every few months, you’re putting yourself and your account at risk. Even if you were to make strong new passwords every few months, you wouldn’t necessarily prevent any security risks. It would be more troublesome for you than for a potential hacker. However, if you feel like your password has been compromised, is too weak, or if you’ve shared it with someone else, then by all means change it immediately. But make sure you take the time to think of a strong, complex password that will secure your account until it’s time to change it again.

Download PSafe Total
If you really want to make your personal information more secure, download PSafe Total for your Android device and PSafe Total Windows for your PC to ensure that your data is protected against malicious threats 24/7. With PSafe Total’s Vault feature, you can even create a second password for important apps.

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• It’s a good idea to create unique passwords for each account or device, especially when it comes to more important accounts, such as those for your e-mail or online banking.
• Make the password as long as you can, and incorporate lower- and uppercase letters, symbols, and numbers. Avoid popular number sequences, words, or important dates.
• Have your child think of a TV show they like, or even a favorite food or color. Tell them to choose something that they will remember, but something that isn’t easily guessable. Now alter that word or phrase, and add in some uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• If you or your child is having trouble thinking of a long password, it’s okay to repeat the password twice to make it longer.
• Teach your child to memorize the password. This is a good practice, especially for beginners who don’t have dozens of different passwords to remember. However, it usually doesn’t hurt to let your child write down his or her password, as long as that information is kept in a safe place.
• A password should be changed semi-regularly.
• Remember to emphasize that a password that is easy and fast to type is not always the best password — Security is more important than speed!

Protect Your Devices From Threats
You have enough things to worry about as your child learns how to navigate the internet — don’t let hacking be one of them. Download PSafe Total for your Android device and PSafe Total Windows for your PC to ensure that your devices are protected from malware 24/7. With PSafe Total you can also add an extra layer of security to your favorite apps, by using the Vault feature to add second passwords. Another layer of security never hurts — especially when you’re sharing your devices with someone still learning about how it all works.