Commercial Integrator June 2022 - 13

venience you'll have to put up with once a
day, but it will increase the security of your
accounts tremendously.
5. Don't store the PMP or your computer
password. This may sound strange,
but some people want to store their PMP
inside their password manager. Don't do
this. Don't store your computer password
there, either. If someone walks by your
computer and sees it unlocked, they will
get all your passwords by checking to see if
the PMP is there.
6. Encrypt and lock your phone.
Phones are easily lost. If you want to install
your password manager's mobile app,
then protect it! Enable encryption on the
phone and set up biometrics to unlock it.
Face ID and fingerprints work well here.
The last thing you want to do every day is
type " TaylorSwiftIsAGoddess!!<3 " on a
tiny keypad and hope you don't fat-finger
it. Biometrics make it easy to access your
passwords securely.
7. Change all your passwords. This is
tedious, but it's important. Now that you
have a password manager, go through all
the websites that you log into and change
their passwords. You don't need to do it all
at once. However, each time the password
manager doesn't have the credentials to a
site, you'll know it's time to update that site
with a better password.
8. Use the password generator. Most
password managers can automatically
generate long, strong, unique passwords.
Use that tool. Let it generate a complex,
randomized, 16-character password. Then,
you can simply copy and paste it into the
password field on the website.
9. Don't reuse passwords. You don't
need to reuse them anymore. You're not
relying on your memory, so there's no reason
to use the same password in multiple places.
10. Watch for password hacks. Many
password managers will alert you when
you're visiting a site that is known to have
been breached. In that case, change your
password immediately. It's also a good
idea to check https://haveibeenpwned.
com occasionally to ensure your passwords
aren't being sold on the dark web.
11. Still use 2FA/MFA. Even though you
have great passwords everywhere now, hackers
can still steal them or trick you into giving
them up. Set up 2FA/MFA everywhere that
supports it. It's one of the best things you can
do to protect your account security.
This might take a bit of setup time and
practice to get right. However, once everything
has been configured and updated,
password managers can make logging
into websites faster and more secure than
ever. And you know that nagging voice in
your head that always says, " You know you
should have a better password, right? "
Well, you'll never have to listen to that
voice again. Have one strong password
for your computer, one strong password
for your password manager and leave that
voice to pester your friends.
Tim Singleton is president of
Strive Technology Consulting
(StriveIT.com), a member of The
ASCII Group since 2019.
commercialintegrator.com
JUNE 2022 Commercial Integrator
13
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Commercial Integrator June 2022

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