My Organization Fail & How I Fixed It

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My organization fail is online passwords/information.

My fail not only included passwords, but other, important cyber information.  There was a time that I had not been organized with my online information, and as a result, I had put myself and my family at risk.

In June 2015 an article from Entrepreneur titled “Password Statistics: the Bad, the Worse and the Ugly”, they state: “According to a new report, nearly 3 out of 4 consumers use duplicate passwords, many of which have not been changed in five years or more.”  The article goes on to note that “On average, only 6 unique passwords are used to guard 24 online accounts”.

I was far from a model of organization when it came to keeping passwords safe.  I could barely, if at all, even remember what my passwords were.

When a friend of mine was helping me organize and start my blog, I began to realize (as did she, much to her horror), how bad a job I had done at protecting such critical information, but also, how essential it was to make it right.

The Steps I Took to Protect my Cyber Information

• Make a list of all of your online accounts, their log in, and your password.
• Sign up for a password manager program. This is the type of program that keeps all of your information in one place, and protected.  There are many programs available.  Some of the ones I have looked into in the past have been: Password Safe, 1Password, and LastPass.  Do the research, and choose what is right for you.  In my opinion, one of the best sources of information regarding these programs is WireCutter.com.  In fact, there is a recent article written by Joe Kissell that is one of the most in depth I’ve read. It has comparisons of many of the different programs that are available.  The information there is incredibly valuable.
• Opt into a two step verification process whenever possible.
• Keep variety in your passwords.  Using the same password for different accounts will put you at risk.
• Change your passwords frequently and update them in your password manager program.  This is especially relevant when you have many online accounts.

I took a hard look at the mess I had created using the same information over and over again.  That doesn’t happen any longer.  Furthermore, by implementing the steps above, I sleep much easier now knowing that some of our most important family information is protected.  Always keep your information protected and organized so that you never find yourself in the same situation.

xoxo

JJ

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