Expert Gives Tips For Managing Numerous Passwords

Cyber crime is one of the fastest growing types of criminal activity in the United States and it's impacting more and more people each year.

Experts say one of the best ways you can protect yourself is by having a secure password, but when you need a password for everything from your bank account to your social media accounts, that can be tough.

News On 6's LeAnne Taylor has some tips on how to make sure your private information stays private.

For most of us, passwords are a pain.

"I should probably be better at those," admits Julie Lockett.

It's a common problem.

Lockett is like a lot of people; she thinks her work password is tough to crack but her personal passwords, that's another story.

"I'm older, I kinda like to remember how to get on something," said Lockett.

A report from Splash Data last year found the two most popular passwords were the word “password” and “123456.”

Many companies have employees change their passwords regularly, but Google is logging out of that trend.

"Google has gotten rid of some things that are still thought of best practices elsewhere. Like forcing you to rotate your password every few months," said Mark Grissle.

Grissle is Google's Director of Product Management.

He says you should come up with unique and complicated passwords, and the more passwords you have, the better off you are.

"The best advice for passwords is to use a different one on every site," Grissle said.

Instead of putting capital letters at the beginning and numbers at the end, experts say you should mix it up to make it harder for hackers to guess.

"I have insane passwords that no one would ever crack," said Shane Brady.

Brady came up with his own unique system after having his identity stolen.

"I make acronyms and throw numbers of hockey players into my passwords," Brady said.

But it can be hard to keep track of that.

So, experts recommend a password manager that can remember them for you.

It's also good to set up two-tier authentication, which usually involves a text or app.

A code is sent to your device and you type it in as an extra security step.

That's probably the best way your viewers can protect themselves, is by adding that second factor," said Grissle.

If you want to go a step further, you can also purchase a security key.

When you try to log into a site, your phone or computer detects the device and, with a tap, you can confirm it's you and not a hacker trying to log in.