we use passwords constantly in our day to day. It is the security barrier to avoid intruders in social network accounts, email or any platform you use online. However, over time we can have many keys and it is not easy to remember all of them. What we do, in many cases, is store them. But are we doing it correctly? We tell you about a fairly common mistake that you should never make, as they could enter your accounts.
If you do things right, you will have a unique password for each account. Also, each key will be totally random, with numbers, symbols and letters. It is not easy to memorize them, especially those that you use very little. It is a good sign that you do not memorize them, since it means that it is a long and complex key, but that also leads to us storing them wrong.
Do not keep unprotected passwords
The error is basically save unprotected passwords. Simply in order to have them on hand when needed, many people save them in an unencrypted text file. It can be on the computer, but also on the mobile. For example, it is common in phone notes.
Yes, it is clear that it is convenient to always have them at hand, but it is certainly a serious mistake. In case an intruder manages to break into your computer or mobile, he could have access to those passwords without any difficulty. It could enter your social media accounts, email, bank…
How could they break into your devices and access those files? It could happen if you they strain some virus and have remote access to the device. Also malware that can precisely track documents to find passwords. Even due to an oversight and someone having physical access to your computer or mobile.
For all this, it is essential not to save passwords in text files that anyone can open. You could put all your keys at risk and allow intruders into accounts of all kinds. Do not do it on the computer, nor on the mobile phone.
How to save keys
So how can we keep passwords safe? It is best to use a key manager. There are many and you can use them both on your computer and on your mobile. It’s basically an app that has a master key and stores all the others. Some examples are KeePass, NordPass or LastPass.
You could also use a encrypted memory. For example, a flash drive that you have encrypted and well saved. There you can save not only passwords, but also information of all kinds that you would like to have protected to prevent any intruder from gaining access. It is important that you encrypt these memories correctly.
An alternative is to use some old device that you have at home and do not use. It is essential that you are not connected to the Internet. Basically you are going to use it to save files and, in case you have to access them, you will be able to see the stored keys. If you use it solely for that, it is an option to consider. You could even password encrypt Word files.
In short, as you can see, it is not a good idea to save passwords in unprotected text files. The best of all is to use password managers to store the keys correctly and not have any security risk. You can use them both on your computer and on your mobile phone.
