Do you use one of the following methods to store your userids and passwords? -on your smartphone which you keep locked with a secret code
-on a document saved to your computer
-on a list kept under your keyboard
Storing the userids and passwords on your phone is a way to protect them and have them handy when you need them, except when you don’t know where your phone is. Now the question is...how will you remember all those userids and passwords without your phone or until you find the missing phone? Do you have a backup means to store that information so that you can continue to work?
How safe is having a list of user IDs and passwords on your computer? Do you lock your computer screen or logout when away from your desk? What if you are away from the office or work space and someone else has to go into your computer to retrieve a report or data that is needed. Once you give someone else access to that information, you no longer have security. Where else could you have a stored list of this information that would be readily available to you while away from your job? Is it feasible to have a printed list in your wallet or purse?
How many times have you sat down to work at your computer and the first thing that you do is look under the keyboard to find the user ID and password to access a program you don’t use very often? Once anyone sees where you store this information, it is no longer secure. Or to keep from having to write it down, do you use the word “password” as your password...or “123456” as your password? It can be difficult to remember a complicated password, but it is necessary. It is equally challenging to remember a 10 digit UID, but it is yours and unique to you. You must protect it.
Improve Your Practices for Storing User IDs and Passwords:
● Consider using a service, such as password manager program
There are a number of services that will help you manage your IDs and passwords; some are free and others require a fee, either monthly or annually. These services differ slightly but work on the same basic principle: Each is an online storage locker of your passwords, all hidden behind a single password that only you know (meaning you can't recover your master password from anywhere but your brain). Password managers also offer other perks, such as